OCMS Girls Basketball

OCMS Girls Basketball Team

Post Season Girls Basketball – Last year the middle school girl’s basketball team was extremely successful.  If memory serves they only lost one game and that was to St. Joseph’s in the tournament championship game at the end of the season.  Several of those girls moved on to play for the girl’s varsity basketball team this year, which meant that there was considerable pressure on both the remaining middle school girls and their coach, Keith Goodwin. 

        Coach Goodwin is not only the girls basketball coach he is also one of the assistant principal at the middle school, a position not known for providing a lot of time to coach.  "Beverly [Levine, OCMS Principal] knew that the basketball team meant a lot to the girls,” said Goodwin.  “So when we needed a girl’s basketball coach we notched out the time so I could do it.  I’ve been able to spend time with my daughter, Elizabeth, which I would otherwise not been able to do and I have built some good relationships with the kids, too.” 

        “When last season ended I made it known that on Monday’s I’d meet with anyone who wanted to play basketball,” Coach Goodwin remarked, concerning the end of the girl’s phenomenal season last year.  “That started from about March.  I didn’t want the kids to have to choose between something like track and basketball.  But we did that through the summer.  Sometimes we'd only have a couple of kids, other times maybe five or six. We had a basketball camp in the summer and once the softball teams were picked we started again in the fall.”      

OCMS Basketball Cheerleaders

        “I was pretty comfortable with where the girls were on progressing with their skills,” Coach Goodwin continues.  “The girls last year had a better understanding of basketball from a conceptual point of view, but I felt pretty good going into the season.  Then we were 9-1 and we got smoked by Athens Christian.  It was after that game that I realized just how well we were doing because we only had three girls coming back from last year that had any real basketball experience; and that was Kiah Bazzell, Amber Turner and Elizabeth Goodwin.”  Most of the other players that returned from last year didn’t have much floor experience Coach Goodwin said. 

        “The record is not as important as how they look on the court; how they look as a team, how they play as a team.  Do they have a good chemistry,” comment’s Goodwin.  “Athens Christian wasn’t particularly athletic but they were great as a team.  But one of the reasons we did so well was because of our girl’s hustle.  I never had a problem with their hustle, and that’s one of the reasons we won so many of those close games is because our girls out hustled them.”  This will bode well for those who want to play high school basketball.

        Coach Goodwin said that both Turner and Bazzell will certainly step up for high school.  “Both of them just love the game,” Goodwin said.  “I think Shondra Dewberry, Ashley Waller and Sierra Taylor will go up and give it a shot.  Waller didn’t get to play that much because this was her first year playing basketball but she is an exceptional athlete.  If she sticks with it she’ll make a big contribution.”  Coach Goodwin thinks that all of these girls will be good for the high school team.  He feels like they have the desire; they are coachable; they are willing to listen and learn and have the skills. 

        “As far as those coming back next year I think we have a strong group.  There will be nine players returning and all of them played.  Destinie Taylor and Tory Wiggins both had surgeries during the season so that slowed them up but they should be back strong next year.  Cori Rollings is going to be a top flight player, Gina Mattox played well, Bahria Jones is a good athlete who started a game for us,  Shermiah Baughns, who played as a sixth grader will be strong,  Alexis Wymbs played point guard.  She and Turner shared time at point guard, which is a high pressure position and because of the experience she got this year she’ll be better next year.  Brittany Harland, who is also a softball player, came a long way this season and by the end of the season was seeing a good bit of playing time. 

        “We should have a good core group going into next year,” said Coach Goodwin. 

        Coach Goodwin said they will probably play a similar schedule against similar teams next year as they did this year.  With the age and experience of the returning ball players next year should provide the rest of us with some exciting basketball.