STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy’s player Anna Prestridge laughs when she talks about her early childhood memories.
“I have a home video taken when I was 2 years old,” Prestridge said. “I am playing with my new basketball goal. I have a hard time getting the ball through it, but you can tell I am having a good time.”
Basketball came much more naturally to Prestridge as she grew older and became a player, a leader, and a champion.
The senior point guard helped lead Starkville Academy to three state championships this season, including the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools’ Overall State Championship. The overall title was the school’s first in girls basketball.
Prestridge played integral roles in every step, and her leadership is a key reason why she was selected as The Dispatch’s Large Schools co-Player of the Year.
“I really know a good coach when I see them,” Starkville Academy coach Glenn Schmidt said “Anna was our coach on the floor. She was our point guard and with that comes a tremendous amount of responsibility. She did a tremendous job of leading our team this season.”
The leadership role was nothing new for Prestridge, who has played point guard her entire career.
“I really like the point guard position, but sometimes it does feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders,” Prestridge said. “You have to get the ball up the floor and you have to make sure everybody is in the right place. It would be different had I not grown up with it.
“It is all about giving that extra leadership. That is what I felt like my job was this year.”
Typically, teams rely on seniors to provide that extra leadership. Starkville Academy was a deep team that featured five seniors and relied on togetherness that paid dividends in a grueling stretch run.
“I think team chemistry is what put us over the top this year,” Prestridge said. “We had been close but just weren’t able to break through. We spent a lot of time together as a team, going to the movies, going to each other’s houses. We had a special chemistry that other teams didn’t have. I think the fact that we had been together for so long and really cared about one another is what finally pushed us over the top.”
Starkville Academy (38-5) beat East Rankin Academy to win the Class AAA, Division II title, Madison-Ridgeland Academy to win the Class AAA title, and MRA again to win the overall state title. The 9-0 postseason run included numerous come-from-behind victories in the fourth quarter.
“The team had a greater determination and mental toughness than any team I coached,” Schmidt said. “As a coach, you don’t have favorite teams, but you do have deserving teams. Rarely has a group worked this hard and done this much and been this special. They deserved it.”
While togetherness played a role in the team’s second-half surge, the Lady Volunteers also relied on balance.
“This team had a lot of diversity,” said Prestridge, who plans to pursue a degree in kinesiology at Mississippi State University. “We really understood each other and respected one another. Each night, it seemed like a different player stepped up and made the big plays to win a game. Once you come from behind a beat big-time opponent like that, it gives you confidence that you can do it again and again.”
Starkville Academy began the season as the state’s top-ranked team, but a preseason ranking guarantees nothing in March.
“For this team, it started back during the summer,” Prestridge said. “We went to the Jackson Academy camp during the summer and we won it. After that, we felt like we could be good. We then went out and won the first nine games of the season. I knew then we had a chance to be a really special team.
“Still, Coach Schmidt always kept us grounded. I think the best thing about the leadership of this team is we never got too high or too low. We worked as hard in practice when we were 9-0 as we did at the first of the year. We worked hard, but we never lost sight of playing the game for fun. You have to enjoy what you are doing to be successful.”
Prestridge credits Schmidt with being a major influence on her game and on the team’s success
“She is such a great coach because she is always encouraging,” Prestridge said. “We know all about her college experience, so I really felt like I was being coached by a college coach. She would correct you but she would help you fix your mistakes. Every day, I became a better player and better person because of her influence.”
Prestridge almost didn’t have a chance to play for Schmidt. Her high school playing career began at Parklane Academy in McComb. After her father, Steve, lost his job, the family moved to Starkville prior to Anna’s sophomore year.
“A lot of prayer helped my family get through that situation,” Prestridge said. “It was very difficult leaving my friends, but it turned out in the end for the best. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunities I have had.”
Prestridge feels like older sister Keri, and parents Steve and Kim all have played major roles in shaping her basketball career.
“I started playing basketball competitively when I was in fifth grade,” Prestridge said. “We played other schools in our area. My parents have always been there for me. They never missed a game, home or away. My parents played, as did Keri. She has been a big influence.”
While Prestridge only averaged 4.4 points per game, she also averaged 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game and played tough defense. However, no statistical sheet can show how important her leadership was to the team.
“Every team has that special leader,” Starkville Academy junior Anna Lea Little said. “That is what Anna provided for us. If you wanted to know how to do something, you looked at how she was doing it. You knew she would be doing it the right way. I felt like she set a standard which would help me be a better leader next season when I am a senior.”
If Prestridge was to give the returning Lady Volunteers some advice, she would stress the need to have fun. When a team plays 43 games, it can make for a difficult grind.
“It’s a time commitment, but every sport is,” Prestridge said. “You have to have balance. Balance came naturally for me because I love the game. I could play basketball every day. It is important to always remember that love and to always have that desire. You have to stay on top of your studies. If you work hard enough at it, you can find the proper time for everything.
“When basketball is concerned, you need to remember you will get out of what you put into it.”
Prestridge has gotten the most she can out of it.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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