FLOWERY BRANCH — Courtney Newton knew what she was getting when she took the reins of the Flowery Branch girls basketball team this season.
But even Newton, a former Lady Falcons standout in her own right, has been impressed with how her young and talented team has responded after a major coaching change and following in the footsteps of Hazel Hall.
“Well, we knew we had a talented team that got some good experience last year,” Newton said. “But you always expect some bumps early with different personalities coming in and things like that. However, the transition for us has been very smooth. The girls have a great attitude and work ethic. I could not be more pleased with how things have started.”
Virtually the entire roster returned from last year’s playoff team, led by seniors Breanna Lock and Maddie Hetzel, junior Julianne Sutton, and sophomore Lexie Sengkhammee. Sophomore Taniyah Worth, junior Queen Scott, and freshman Caroline Wysocki all have all played big minutes to help the Lady Falcons roll out to an 11-0 record so far as they prepare for the 2015 edition of the Lanierland Tournament, which begins Monday at Johnson High School.
The Lady Falcons will take on West Hall at 3 p.m. in the first round and are looking for a return to the championship game after falling 45-43 in a classic in last year’s finals to Gainesville. The Chestatee girls will take on East Hall at 10:30 a.m. at Johnson to open the tournament.
Flowery Branch is one of just four unbeaten teams still left in Class AAAAA, along with South Effingham (12-0), Grovetown (12-0), and Columbus (11-0). Newton is hoping they can use the always-competitive Lanierland to springboard them toward another run to the playoffs.
“Lanierland is always a great tournament with a tougher field than some of the early-round playoff games so we’re hoping this will give us a real test of where we are and what we need to improve on,” Newton said.
The Lady Falcons are getting balanced scoring across the bench with a different high-scorer almost every game. But a key move for Newton was to move Sengkhammee, who can drive and dish as well as score, to point guard.
“I think that has really opened up the offense for us,” Newton said. “She really knows how to run the team on the court and she is doing a great job of getting the ball to the right spot and to whoever is hot at the time. She’s not scoring as much as last year but with her at the point we are a much more dangerous team.”
Flowery Branch is averaging just under 70 points a game (69.5) but it has been their defensive play that has gotten a lot of attention. The Lady Falcons are yielding just 34.5 ppg and already have six wins by 30-plus points on the season.
Newton saw the potential in just the second game of the season when they took on Class AAAAAA West Forsyth, who featured the state’s No. 1 player in Jenna Staiti, who is also the No. 3-rated post player in the country.
Staiti finished with 35 points but the Lady Falcons clamped down on the rest of the Lady Wolverines for a 58-48 win on the road.
“Even though it was just the second game of the year that was a big one for us. We got to see how they responded to a player of that caliber and how we would handle the rest of the team,” Newton said. “Staiti got hers but our focus was on stopping everyone else. Our defense was excellent the entire game. We only allowed 13 to the rest of their roster. That showed what we were capable of doing.”
The current Lanierland field should offer plenty of styles with East Hall (9-2), Gainesville (6-2), North Hall (5-3), Lakeview Academy (6-4), and West Hall (5-4), all coming into the tournament with winning records, and doing so in a variety of ways. Chestatee is at 5-6 while Johnson is at 1-7 but is much-improved despite the record.
“It’s always a great tournament and every game is tough. I think this year could be one of the toughest in many years and we’re going to have to play our best to get some wins,” Newton said. “You see different styles, which helps prepare you for what’s out there down the road.”
Yet despite the gaudy record to date, Newton said they still have plenty of room to improve.
“We’re still a young team overall and I feel there is still a lot of growth still in us,” she said. “We would love to get our first (Lanierland) title since 2003 but it will take a great effort for three days. Hopefully we can get it and grow along the way.”
2015 LANIERLAND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday, Dec. 28 at Johnson High, Oakwood, First Round
10:30 a.m. — Chestatee girls vs. East Hall
Noon — Chestatee boys vs. Flowery Branch
1:30 p.m. — Lakeview Academy girls vs. North Hall
3 p.m. — Flowery Branch girls vs. West Hall
4:30 p.m. — Lakeview Academy boys vs. East Hall
6 p.m. — Johnson girls vs. Gainesville
7:30 p.m. — Johnson boys vs. West Hall
(The North Hall boys received a first round bye after the Gainesviile boys were forced to withdraw after being involved in a fight in a tournament in Kentucky last week. The Red Elephants were suspended for two games, as per GHSA rules.)
