Centreville coach, players dominate MAIS Girls team

Published 9:00 pm Friday, April 17, 2020

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CENTREVILLE — A banner year for Centreville Academy’s varsity girls’ basketball team culminated with its head coach and three players from the Lady Tigers recently named to the All-MAIS Class 2A Girls Team.

Centreville head coach Brandy Hall, in her third year at Centreville, was named Class 2A Girls Coach of the Year. The Lady Tigers went 23-10 overall, including a fourth-place finish at the South State Tournament, the MAIS 2A State championship and a berth in the Overall Tournament.

“I found out last Thursday when it came out on the email and I was shocked. I really don’t know what to say,” Hall said. “My girls worked really hard this year. We accomplished a lot. We came together and got the job done. I thank God for giving me the knowledge to know the game of basketball. It was an honor I wasn’t aware of.

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“Just like my mom (ACCS head coach Melanie Hall) says, ‘To God be the glory. Win or lose, it’s all about him,’” Brandy added. “That’s what’s really important. What kind of people we are molding our players into. That’s what is important.”

Sophomore point guard Savannah Hailey was named All-MAIS Class 2A Girls Player of the Year.

“Savannah has been on the All-MAIS Team since the eighth grade. It’s a huge accomplishment for the year,” Hall said. “She plays AAU. She plays basketball all year long. She’s very basketball-minded and has a lot of ability to go with it. Everything she does with athletics, she’s good at. She’s special.”

A pair of juniors for the Lady Tigers, small forward Lacy Darden and power forward/center Emilea Roberts, also made the team.

“Last year we graduated three seniors. So when they graduated, Emilea and Lacy, it was their time to step up and they did just that,” Hall said. “They knew how big they were going to have to play. They did everything I asked. They may not always agree with everything I say, but they’re going to do it. They’re not going to complain.”

After leading Centreville Academy to the Class 2A girls’ state championship back in late February, Darden, Hailey and Roberts were each named to the all-tournament team.

While this was the third straight year that Hailey made the All-MAIS team, this was the first one for both Darden and Roberts.

Hall said that all three players deserved to be on the team.

She also said that the trio worked on their game not only during practice, but on their own to get better.

Hall added that Darden and Roberts’ skills improved on the court and that they were better people off the court.

“It’s a huge honor. This is all the schools in Class 2A. They competed well this year and they showed very good leadership,” Hall said. “We purposely played bigger teams so when we played tournaments, we would be ready for anything. It’s so hard to do it, but those three stepped up mentally and physically.”

All three players will be returning for the 2020-2021 Lady Tigers, who should be prime for another big season in Class 2A.