Kaitlin Bradley and D.J. Sanders have experienced frustration and then some.
They went through enough of it last season in a 6-16 campaign that they know they never want to go through anything like it again.
“Last year, I would rather not have the ball,” Sanders said. “We messed up so many times, I would rather not be the player who messed up, so if you gave it to me I probably would give it back to you just because that would be less times I had the ball, the less chance I would mess up.
“This year, I have gotten more comfortable with it so I don’t mind having the ball and I feel confident that I know what to do when I do get it.”
The maturation of Bradley and Sanders mirrors the growth of the New Hope High School girls basketball team.
At 9-0, coach Laura Lee Holman’s squad already has eclipsed the number of wins the team recorded in 2010-11. New Hope has taken several steps forward thanks to a balanced attack in which Sanders (13.8 points per game) is the team’s only double-digit scorer.
Bradley proved a valuable contributor last week when she had 12 points and 13 rebounds in a come-from-behind victory against Louisville, while Sanders had 13 points in wins against Louisville and West Lowndes.
For their accomplishments, Bradley and Sanders are The Dispatch’s Prep Players of the Week.
“We know what won’t work,” Sanders said. “Last year, we didn’t win a lot of games and we realize how we were practicing and how we were playing wasn’t working out, so we tried something different.”
Sanders said the New Hope players had multiple heart-to-heart talks amongst themselves but couldn’t stop being their own worst enemy last season. This season, the turnovers that plagued the team have decreased, even though New Hope had 34 turnovers against Louisville in the 57-53 victory on Dec. 6.
“We have matured,” Sanders said. “We just think more and we don’t have as many turnovers. We are doing what we are supposed to.”
Holman said the fast start has helped prepare the team for a tough district slate that will feature games against Oxford, West Point, and Saltillo. She said she is proud of the team’s success, but knows the Lady Trojans have to play at an even higher level come district play.
Holman said Sanders has matured in so many areas. She said a valuable change has been Sanders’ emergence as a vocal leader. She said now Sanders “wants the ball in her hands” when the game is on the line.
“She has stepped into a leadership role, and I think she realized her athletic ability can help her in the post,” Holman said. “After a hard summer and a good offseason, she has found she can be successful (in the post) and I like it down here.”
As for the team, Holman said that “work, work, work, work” through to this season.
“They’re commitment to getting better and not being satisfied (is paying off),” Holman said. “These kids could have pouted all summer after going 6-16 (last season). But their character and their will to get better has put them in the position they’re in. … They made up their minds that we have the potential and that if we will work hard we have the potential to do great things. With great effort great things are happening.”
Sanders, a former guard, has settled in as a post player. The junior is one of the team’s tallest and most athletic players. She said she didn’t know what to do and how to assert herself on the block last season. This year, with an offseason to work on her moves and to gain confidence, Sanders, a sophomore, feels she can be a bigger contribution as a post player. Not only is she leading the team in scoring, but she also is setting the pace in rebounding (8.6 per game).
Junior Lauren Holifield (9.2 ppg.), sophomores Moesha Calmes (9.0 ppg), Mercedes Mattix (7.3 ppg.), and Bradley (7.3 ppg.) complement junior Gabby Murray (7.0 ppg.) and Jasmine Gardner, the team’s only senior. The players agree with Holman that the team doesn’t “skip a beat” when it goes to the bench and inserts new players. Part of the reason is the hard work the players put in in the offseason.
“I think I do different things than last year,” Bradley said. “I am driving every now and then and taking better shots.”
Sanders also feels Bradley’s defense has improved and that her teammate is thinking about plays more and is making better decisions with the ball.
Holman said Bradley’s maturation is similar to how the team has grown. She said Bradley realizes she doesn’t need to stay camped behind the 3-point line and launch shots and hope they go in.
“I think the (second) Louisville game was a season-changing game for her,” Holman said. “She saw how her defense brought this team and how she can take us to the next level when she plays defense.”
Bradley, who said the second Louisville game was her best of the season, said Sanders has honed her skills in the post, has improved her defense, and has become a better ballhandler.
All of that improvement is a good reason why the New Hope is undefeated.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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