Don’t feel sorry for the back-to-back state champs, they’re still coming for you
Anyone who thought the Mercer County Lady Titans would be way down this year after graduating five seniors, including a Miss Basketball, off back-to-back state title teams might ought to reconsider.
Misfiring for much of the game, trailing by as many as 12, the Titans proved they still have the skill and the will to compete this season in a 69-68 win over Scott in the opening round of the Traditional Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic on Thursday.
“We just knew we had to go and attack, because that was what we wasn’t doing (in the first half),” said junior Channing Lewis, who had 14 points and eight rebounds despite a bandaged left hand.
After two Sweet Sixteen titles, the Titans graduated five next-level players, including Miss Basketball Seygan Robins, who’s gone on to Louisville.
Their coach, Chris Souder, decided to make last year his swan song at Mercer, stepping down after 19 seasons. He remains in coaching at South Laurel, but he groomed his successor, Hayley Spivey, from the moment she joined his staff seven years ago.
She’s right where she always wanted to be. Spivey graduated from Mercer. She played for Souder and she’s coached all her players as a middle school, freshman and junior varsity coach leading to this moment.
“For me it wasn’t too much of an adjustment because I’ve already coached them,” Spivey said. “I’ve been real impressed with what I’ve seen so far.”
The Titans are now 5-1, with their lone loss to Elizabethown where they managed just 38 points. They average 67 points per game.
Spivey said she’s not been daunted by the task of taking over from Souder, who also notched back-to-back Coach of the Year honors.
“It’s actually been really exciting ...,” she said. “It has a different meaning for me to be the head coach at Mercer (as an alum),” she said.
And her cupboard is not bare. Her players aim to prove that. They’ve been banging against the best players in the state over the last two years in practice. They see that as an advantage.
“We practiced last year against a great team. They were a great group of people,” senior Toni McCombs said. “So, if we can play with them, we can beat anybody in the state if we play to our expectations.”
Stepping to the forefront have been Lewis and McCombs, along with eighth-grader Timberlynn Yeast, the team’s three leading scorers.
Spivey’s had to make some adjustments, because her team is young and lacks size, but it’s also athletic, making the players perfect for the Titans’ traditional fast-paced, full-court, free-wheeling style. Mercer typically makes three-point shots more than 40 percent of its offense. That has not changed.
“Everybody’s got the green light. I’m not going to tell anybody they can’t shoot,” Spivey said.
It was Yeast whose pivot in the lane and layup gave Mercer its first lead against Scott with just over four minutes left in the game. The Titans were able to maintain the lead and go up by as many as four before a late three-pointer set the final margin. Yeast finished with 19 points and four rebounds.
Lewis averaged 6.2 points per game off the bench last year. This season, she’s broken out for 17.2 points and eight rebounds per game in the spotlight. McCombs contributes 10.3 points per game. She had seven Thursday.
Yeast is one of five eighth-graders who’ve made varsity this season and figure to inherit the Titans’ legacy in the near future. She averages 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and broke out for 36 and 16 against Danville earlier this season.
“There will be a lot of people that underestimate what we can do this year,” Spivey said. “We just have to stick with what we’re doing. Keep working for what we’ve been working for. It’s a transition for everybody. It’s a transition for me. It’s a transition for our girls, but they’ve been handling it really well.”
This weekend
Traditional Bank Holiday Classic
What: Girls’ basketball tournament featuring many of Kentucky’s top teams and players
Where: Lexington Catholic High School
Friday: Two games at 6 p.m., two games at 7:45 p.m.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 8:49 PM.
