CLINTON — Anna Prestridge has been a part of a lot of fond memories as a member of the Starkville Academy girls basketball team.
There are also some things she would like to forget.
Leave it to coach Glenn Schmidt to remember one of those forgettable incidents and to bring it up one day before the team played in the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools overall state tournament.
But Prestridge should know things that are said in the Senior Circle make the team stronger.
Strength was at the core of the story Schmidt told about Prestridge on Thursday at the team’s practice.
“She told me, ‘Anna P., I remember the first conversation I had with you,’ ” Prestridge said, ” ‘but here we don’t cry. She asked me if I remembered that conversation and I said, ‘Yes, ma’am. I wish I didn’t.”
Prestridge transferred from Parklane Academy in McComb to Starkville Academy for her sophomore season. She was playing with her new teammates in the summer at the Starkville Sportsplex when she discovered Schmidt had a tough side.
“She took me out of the game because I messed up somewhere and she brought me to the end of the bench and was yelling at me,” Prestridge said. “I had never had that before, so I just started crying and that’s when she told me that.”
Prestridge showed again how far she has come since that incident as she handed out a game-high six assists and weaved her way through full-court pressure defense throughout the second half to lead Starkville Academy to a 51-41 victory against Jackson Prep on Friday in the semifinals of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools overall state tournament at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
Prestridge didn’t score, but she was the team’s primary ballhandler for all 29 minutes she played and she committed only one turnover.
“I have come so far,” Prestridge said. “Coach Schmidt has pushed me enough to where I am tougher now, and I think it has turned out great.”
Schmidt also told stories about seniors Julianne Jackson, Brittany Jacks, April Burney, and Lauren Atwell. Each senior has played their role so well this season, which explains why Starkville Academy (37-5) will take on Madison-Ridgeland Academy at 1 p.m. today to determine the overall state champion.
Schmidt said she likes to get the team together in a Senior Circle for the last practice of the season. On Thursday, though, her team gathering was a little more important because she wanted to do something to put her team in the right frame of mind.
Judging from the team’s performance, she accomplished both goals.
“I told them we have not been playing these big games with as much energy, just physical energy, excitement, confidence, and focus as we had previously,” Schmidt said. “I told them I thought it was because they were so worried about the game. I told them they needed to relax and to get up our energy, our confidence, and our focus and just let it happen.”
Prestridge said the players came together at center court in a little circle. She said Schmidt said something about each senior, including several funny anecdotes, and then the seniors got in the middle and the players held hands around them and they prayed.
Playing in what turned out to be her next to the last game with her teammates, Prestridge said she and her classmates knew they had to a special challenge to live up to, and she felt they accomplished their goal.
“Coach Schmidt has challenged the seniors to be providers of enthusiasm today,” Prestridge said. “We tried to show a lot of leadership on the court and off the court and to encourage one another and to provide that energy.”
Junior Anna Lea Little apparently felt inspired by the seniors. She scored 16 of her team-high 18 points in the first half to help the Lady Volunteers build a 28-11 halftime lead.
“We all want to win this for the seniors,” Little said. “It means so much to be in the last possible game of the year to be playing for a championship. It means to much to the team, especially the seniors.”
Schmidt joked that she knew in June Starkville Academy would be in the spot it is in today. She said she had so many people tell her last summer the Lady Volunteers were “going to go all the way” that it scared her.
No one wearing SA colors looked frightened about the prospect of winning another championship. In fact, they looked strong enough to do it, right down to their point guard.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.