By Reina Kempt

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The future is bright for Vintrice Briggs as she is headed to Xavier University on a full basketball scholarship.

Some may remember the 5’8” Briggs as the star player for Franklin County High School in 2011, but she took her game to the next level with a scholarship to Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

She said she chose Co-Lin for sentimental reasons along with athletic reasons.

“I believe Co-Lin was a good choice for me,” she said. “My dad and my uncles all went to Co-Lin so it runs in the family.”

Briggs entered Co-Lin as a forward but head coach Gwyn Young knew she would fit better as a guard/forward combination in college.

“Just watching her movement, we decided to play her as a guard more than just a forward,” Young said. “We were able to make that transition to the guard but still have her as a forward.”

Young is the No. 1 winningest coach among active coaches in NACJC women’s basketball with 821 wins in 37 years of coaching and he was just inducted into the Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Young showed why he is a legendary coach with his development of Briggs’ game, she became one of the team’s best players in her sophomore year.

Co-Lin was the No. 23-ranked team in the 2012-2013 season as they pulled together to win the South Division title over East Central to clinch the No.1 seed going into the State Tournament.

With the season going well, Briggs suffered a gruesome ankle sprain that would keep her out of the State Tournament.

“It was tough because I never had a serious injury and I never missed any games,” Briggs said.

Briggs said it was tough to be on the sideline during the most crucial part of the season but she had to keep positive for her team.

“This is what we’ve been working for the whole year and I didn’t want my teammates to see me down because they feed off of me,” she said. “So I cheered them on because I knew they could do it.”

With a little extra hard work and Briggs’ motivation, Co-Lin survived in the State Tournament to beat Itawamba 61-60 in the semifinals before breezing past Northeast Mississippi 64-46 in the championship.

Now with the season extended, Briggs was back out on the court. But Young said Briggs was still limited in her ability to contribute.

“She was playing at about 65 to 70 percent,” he said. “But she was our best rebounder and our toughest player on defense.”

In the Region 23 tournament, Co-Lin coasted by Meridian 62-52 with Briggs snatching down nine rebounds in limited playing time.

But Briggs courageous efforts weren’t enough to get past Itawamba in the semifinals, as they were ousted 62-56.

Though the season didn’t end as planned for Briggs, she still had a lot on her mind about choosing the next step in her life.

“I made no commitment to any college throughout the year so I was still contemplating on where to go,” she said.

Through word of mouth, Xavier heard about Briggs and her abilities and asked her to work out for them.

After a few days of showing them what she was made of, they offered her a full scholarship. Briggs said Xavier was the perfect choice for her for reasons besides basketball.

“Other schools were good for basketball but weren’t really strong in my field,” Briggs said. “But Xavier is one of the top schools for pharmacy. It was perfect.”

Young said he is confident that she will do well at her new school for various reasons.

“There is no doubt she’ll be a good player for them,” he said. “She’s self motivated, a hard worker and she does well in school.”

Briggs said she is blessed to get this opportunity and she will leave for Xavier’s summer session and summer basketball workouts on Sunday.