Story by Rusty Ellis
The 2020-21 season saw the Clay County Lady Bulldogs make a run to the final four of the State Tournament, where they fell to Loretto.
Along the way, it featured appearances in both the district and region championships before they punched their ticket to Murfreesboro with a 60-53 win at Huntland in the substate round.
When it comes to how well his team played down the final stretch of the season, head coach Matthew Walker says it had a lot to do with his players settling in to their roles, and the hope is that it carries over to the start of this season.
“I think everyone just found their role, and the good thing about this year’s team is that we have so much experience returning,” Walker said. “Finding their roles this year early on to allow us to start the season really well, that’s going to be a big key.”
One big positive is that while many teams around the area are experiencing new districts and having to prepare for new teams, Clay County was one of the few teams that saw their district stay the same.
That doesn’t change the challenge that this league presents.
“Obviously, our goal is to win the district,” Walker said. “We’ve been right there the last couple of years. We’ve finished as runner-ups in the district three of the last four years…it’s been a long time since we’ve accomplished all of our goals.”
The Lady Bulldogs have the tough task of replacing three seniors from last year’s team in Rachel Copass, Katie Arms and Hannah Raines. As far as production on the court, it’ll all start with this year’s seniors.
“We’ve got Eliza Jenkins, Cherokee Upton and Zoe Hayes,” Walker said. “All three of them have played some minutes in their career, but definitely the roles for those three will increase.”
Of those three, the big x-factor could be Upton and how much she responds in her increased minutes.
“Cherokee’s the one that I’m hoping can come on and have a breakout year,” Walker said. “She shoots the ball really well and she’s always done that, but over the summer, she’s defended better and gotten a little quicker. She has to be a gritty defender, and she has to go rebound well. She’s showing a little more of an all-around game.”
And of course, you can’t talk about this team without bringing up dynamic junior Briley Burchett.
“I expect her to be one of the best 1A players in the state,” Burchett said. “She’s continued to work on her outside game, as well as the mental side of the game…once she gets the mental part of the game down, I look for her to be really difficult to stop.”
As far as expectations, the shift in classifications and districts leaves the 1A class relatively wide-open. Walker believes that, and because of that, he thinks it’s possible for the Lady Bulldogs to do something special this season.
“Last year, we knew going into the season that there were some powerhouses in 1A,” Walker said. “I don’t know that there is a clear-cut favorite in 1A this year. I feel like we’ve got as good a chance as anyone this year.”