Meigs County’s Youth Movement Displaying A Veteran Presence

With a pair of state championships claimed during five straight trips to the state tournament in the 1990s, Meigs County has a solid reputation of being among the ruling class among girls basketball programs.

The Lady Tigers have expanded their sterling resume’ the last several years, compiling a record of 185 wins against only 44 losses over the past seven seasons including an appearance in the Class A semifinals in 2014.

But however impressive Meigs County’s history has been up to this point, the future for the Lady Tigers looks even more promising. 

With a starting lineup that features four sophomores and a junior, the Lady Tigers have won 18 consecutive games in compiling a 25-2 record this season to earn the No. 1 ranking in the Class AA Associated Press poll entering Friday’s District 5 tournament at Loudon.

Meigs County rose to the top of the rankings for the first time this week, displacing defending champion Upperman.  The Lady Tigers’ success has been a pleasant surprise for veteran coach Jason Powell considering the youthfulness of his roster.

“Going into this year, my goal was just to finish first or second in the district,” Powell said.  “We really made our schedule tougher so I was hoping maybe we could win 20 games and maybe lose eight or nine.  I had no idea we’d be sitting at 25-2 at this point.”

But the quartet of sophomores has displayed a maturity beyond their years.  Jacelyn Stone spearheads the attack while averaging 14 points per outing.  The steady point guard was named District 5-AA MVP on the heels of capturing most valuable player honors when Meigs County won the Best of Preps tournament in December.

“We’re a very athletic team that wants to play as fast as we can, and Jacelyn is the key to that as our point guard,” Powell said.  “We press quite a bit and we try to get up there and deny and put pressure on the ball.  I’ve been fortunate to have a talented bunch of ladies and I think we play a fun style of basketball that fits their abilities.”

 

Powell’s daughter, Jaci, averages ten points per game from her wing position, while twin sisters Anna and Ella Crowder are post players to round out the Lady Tigers’ sophomore starters.

 

Kassidy Kenny, Meigs County’s leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, has returned from a knee injury incurred last summer to provide veteran leadership though only a junior as the fifth starter.

The youth movement expands to the Lady Tigers reserve players as well.  Sophomore Ansley Wade along with juniors Bre Bales, Kenzie Crabtree and Krista Crager garner most of the playing minutes off the bench.

Despite his squad’s relative lack of experience, Powell points to the Lady Tigers’ elimination from postseason the last two years by eventual state champions as valuable lessons.

Meigs County’s path to the state tournament was blocked by Upperman in last year’s Sectional game as Upperman completed a 37-0 season in winning the Class AA title.  Two years ago, while competing in Class A, South Greene was crowned champion after defeating the Lady Tigers in the Sectional round.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate in that four of the last five years we made it to sub-state, and got beat in state semifinals back in 2014,” Powell said.  “We wound up getting beat by teams that won the state tournament, so we didn’t get knocked out by nobodies.  I’m hoping these girls can take that next step this year.”

Meigs County dropped its opening game against Oak Ridge, which is 26-2 and ranked second in Class AAA.  Despite the 18-point loss, Powell saw some glimpses of what was to come.

“We were up at halftime by one, then were down by only six going into fourth quarter,” Powell said.  “The dam just broke and the game got away from us.  We battled, and I was satisfied because it showed we could compete against tough teams.”

Meigs County’s only other loss was by one point at district foe McMinn Central, a game the Lady Tigers led by double-digits before Stone fouled out.   That defeat was avenged two weeks ago with a decisive 20-point victory at home after being tied at halftime.

“With such a young team I saw us gaining confidence with each game,” Powell said.  “I think the turning point was during Christmas when we won two games at the Chatt-Town Classic, and then we wound up winning the Best of Preps tournament.  We’d been beaten by Baylor twice in the finals, so finally beating them in the semis was a turning point.”

Being recognized as the No.1 team in the state after spending much of the season second in the polls can serve as motivation for opponents trying to pull of an upset of the Lady Tigers.  But Powell understands that’s a byproduct of success.

“I think there’s pressure for us with our ranking, and I know there’s always pressure for me,” Powell said.  “I’m just hoping we’re so young they don’t really realize what’s going on.  I’ve only brought it up one time and that was in a negative fashion to motivate them, talking about the target on our back we get every time we play.”

Powell grew up outside of Decatur and attended Meigs County.  He has a keen understanding of the importance of athletics to the community.  His sister, Rachel Moore, was part of the Lady Tigers’ success in the ‘90s, earning Class AA Miss Basketball honors before achieving a successful collegiate career at Georgia.

“This community has had a lot of success in multiple sports with the football team being ranked No. 1 most the year and softball winning three straight state titles,” Powell said.  “There’s a tremendous amount of community pride here. You grow up watching kids play and wanting to be a part of that tradition. It just kind of feeds into itself.”

To contact Paul Payne, email paulpayne6249@gmail.com or via Twitter @Paul_A_Payne