GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Last year at this time, the Gainesville girls basketball team sat a respectable 8-6 after a win over Flowery Branch in the third-place game of the Lanierland Tournament.
Little did they know it would be their last of the 2021-22 season. The Lady Red Elephants dropped their final 10 games and failed to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.
Things look very much different on Elephant Dr. so far in the 2022-23 campaign. New coach Vanessa White, a Gene Durden protege, has relatively the same crop of girls off to their best start (11-0) in more than a decade. They are coming off an impressive Lanierland Tournament title last week.
White admits confidence is high right now. But she tempered that saying they still have a lot of work to do.
“The mission of the program is to empower, inspire and teach each female athlete how to build internal and team confidence,” White said. “Confidence is an earned attribute. Confidence is process, and driven.
“They worked hard in the offseason on these things. The biggest difference between now and when I first arrived is that they are starting to see the fruits of their labor. It's great to see them benefit from the sacrifices and commitments they have made”.”
Four returning seniors -- Keke Jones, Kedria Young, Caloni Young, and Zaria Williams -- have been the driving force early on and have taken to their roles as leaders and are playing more as a unit this season.
“They are a huge part of our success,” White said. “We had a senior-specific meeting when I arrived on campus. We talked about building the cultural foundation of the program. The seniors have taken on this role and are doing a great job thus far. Our seniors have great natural basketball IQ and have done a great job of verbally and physically leading our younger players thus far.”
But the real measure of progress will begin tonight in Mt. Airy. The Lady Red Elephants will open their all-important Region 8-6A schedule on the road against a solid Habersham Central squad (9-3, 1-0 Region 8-6A) that has won four straight and 8 of their last 9 overall. Two of their losses have come to Class 3A No. 2-ranked White County. They have made the playoffs each of the past three seasons.
It is already a crucial region contest for both teams. Habersham Central comes in tied with North Forsyth (8-5, 1-0 Region 8-6A) and Jackson County (5-8, 1-0 Region 8-6A) atop the standings. North Forsyth travels to Hoschton tonight so the winner of the Gainesville-Habersham Central contest will be one of just two unbeatens left in the region.
White understands the importance of getting off to a strong start in region play. The Lady Red Elephants have not advanced to the playoffs since 2019 and have not won a state playoff game since 2016.
“Habersham has a good team with a great coach,” White said. “I have a lot of respect for Coach (William) Bradley. The game will be challenging but challenges render growth. This game is an opportunity for us to grow against a quality team.”
Defense has been the key so far for this Gainesville group. It will be the biggest factor for both teams, in fact. Both teams are giving up just 34.9 points/game on defense. The Lady Raiders have allowed 50 or more just once, in their season-opener against White County (59). Gainesville has allowed 50 or more just twice, in wins over Chestatee in overtime (64) and to North Hall (50) in Lanierland.
But whichever offense is able to find some traction could spell the difference. The Lady Red Elephants are averaging 70.0 ppg and Habersham Central is scoring just 46.8 ppg on the season.
“Offense sells tickets but defense wins championships,” White said. “I’m a big believer in defense. It is the foundation to our early success and allows our team to play the uptempo style (on offense). The girls are starting to understand that consistent defense drives the winning.”
