Young Trio Has Ooltewah Lady Owls Excited For The Future

At some point during the basketball season, Tony Williams realized he was living in a parallel universe between the present and the future and despite all his efforts to keep both eyes on the present one, he also knew he had to embrace the future one as well.

As the head coach of the Ooltewah girls’ basketball team, Williams had to adjust present realizations for future expectations. Losing games has never been an easy swallow for the veteran coach and on the occasions bumps on the road do appear, he addresses the present with a focus on the future as well.

After all, lessons, even those which result in losses, are still lessons.

But this is not a one-year class for Williams and his band of Lady Owls. With a roster void any seniors, his basketball hardwood classroom is populated with eight freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors. And the cold fact of that means there is a good chance basketball teams across the area could be in for a schooling for years to come thanks to these lessons learned.

“There’s a level of excitement that there is something special building here. I see the vision and I hope the parents and the community see it,” Williams admitted. “It’s something positive for Ooltewah and our school to embrace.”

And truth be told, there hasn’t been a lot for the athletic program of one of the city’s largest schools to embrace lately. Of the big four sports (football, basketball, baseball and softball) last year’s Lady Owls hoops squad was the first to post a winning season since the 2018 campaign.

In Williams first year at the helm a year ago, the Lady Owls won 15 games to match the most wins any Ooltewah girls’ basketball squad has produced in the last 26 years. Add to the fact this baby Owl team had already won 15 this year, and it’s easy to see the optimism.

That optimism is seated in a trio of leaders for Williams’ squad. There’s junior Allie Tipton, one of the taller point guards around who Williams calls the “brain” behind the squad. There’s sophomore Taryn Felder, who controls the paint on both ends as “the enforcer” and then there’s super freshman Aleigha Taylor, the “wheels” of the team.

Tipton was a star on the team a year ago, but the emergence of Taylor, has given the 5-10 floor general and outlet to feed.

“She is such an unselfish player. At her height with her vision, she doesn’t have to get 20 a night to affect a game. She has given up a lot of flashy stats for the sake of her teammates and that’s not an easy thing to do. The role she plays for us absolutely makes us go,” Williams said of his leader.

“With no seniors on the team, it kinda fell upon me to be that leader. It didn’t take long, though, with this group of freshmen to know I could trust them, and they could support what we were trying to do. It wasn’t about me but getting results. Changing the focus of my game was easy with the results we were getting,” said Tipton, who has averaged 9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists along with a block and 1.5 steals a game.

The spotlight for these Lady Owls had rightly shone on freshman Aleigha Taylor, who has put up some ridiculous numbers for a 15-year-old. And it didn’t take long for Taylor to earn the trust of her older teammates, pouring in 32 points the second time she stepped on a high school court against Ridgeland.

“Yeah, I had seen her in middle school and at some camps and it was obvious early on she was the best player on the floor. She just has a knack for doing things, but for Allie and the other girls to be okay with it, well, that had a lot to do with just how humble Aleigha is. She doesn’t want the spotlight; she just wants to play. Just a very humble little girl who happens to be unique on the basketball court,” Williams said.

In a town filled with several talented freshmen, Taylor has more than joined the club of phenoms. From the likes of Tyner's Baleigh Gibbs to Momo Moore at Chattanooga Christian, there are a slew of eye-opening freshmen making their marks, but Taylor has been every bit as impressive.

She has averaged 21 points and almost 6 rebounds a night. She leads the team in steals (2.6) and averages 2.4 assists. And she does it all without so much of a whisper coming out of her mouth, even when she has nights where she pours in 40. Or 36. Or 39. Numbers that attest to her specialness.

"That first big game was definitely a special moment for me. I guess from there I felt more relaxed, and I realized the adjustment to high school ball wasn't going to be as daunting as I thought it would. I've played with a lot of these freshmen who are having success and seeing others do it out of the gate made it easier for me to do it too," said Taylor.

"Aleigha likes to stay in the shadows and definitely not do an interview like this. I think that's a big part of why her teammates enjoy seeing her succeed like she has," Williams was quick to interject.

Perhaps the thing which most makes this Ooltewah team so special, though, is the unsung role Felder plays. Having an inside game to go with the outside and slashing attack Tipton and Taylor bring has really opened opportunities for the duo.

"I like to rebound, and I like drawing attention down low. They are going to have to clamp down on me and that opens things up everywhere,” said the sophomore.

Felder has been good for 8 rebounds and 8 points a night, and those rebounds are split evenly on the offensive and defense end. Plus, she provides a big deterrent in the lane.

"Taryn provides that extra prong. She draws attention, and she doesn't mind being physical. She wears on you. We wouldn't be where we are without that presence inside. It's important," praised Williams.

While the trio lead the team in minutes played, there are eight girls who average at least 10 minutes an outing. That’s a lot of learning going on, and it doesn’t hurt they are getting these minutes against teams like nationally ranked Bradley Central.

“It’s a tough district, no doubt, but getting to play against some of the best only makes you better. It would be easy to look ahead, but right now we just want to close this season out strong and play as many games as possible,” added Tipton.

This is the 50th anniversary of the only Ooltewah girls basketball team to win a state title, the 1976 squad bringing home a gold ball back when it was 3-on-3 hoops. And while trying to stay in the present while looking towards the future might be a good thing, this young Ooltewah team might be well served to look back at that team's accomplishments because they absolutely have a chance to join them in folklore as one of the all-time greats at the school.

(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)