With only seven wins over the last two seasons, the Todd County Central girls’ basketball team is looking for a fresh start after a 3-24 mark in coach Scott Fleming’s first season on the sidelines. The Lady Rebels have seen more seniors graduate than wins recorded over that 2-year stretch, but a talented group of young players may provide a brighter future.
After an opening-night loss to McLean County, the Lady Rebels evened their record and gave Coach Fleming his first win with a 55-35 road result over Fort Campbell. Three players reached double figures in the victory, with freshman Lucy Chester leading the way with 13 points, followed by Emma Harris and Eliza Simons with 10 each.
However, it would be sixteen games and over a month before the Lady Rebels again tasted victory, when they earned a narrow 39-37 win over Montgomery Central, TN behind 11 points from senior Shelby Johnson.
Another skid followed, with Todd County dropping its next six games before capping the regular season with a second victory over Fort Campbell. Junior Jayla Leavell posted 12 points to fuel the 24-point win.
As the 4th seed in the 13th District tournament, the Lady Rebels faced off with top-seeded Logan County. After dropping both regular-season meetings with the Lady Cougars by an average of 31 points, the season came to an end with a 65-39 defeat. Despite 15 points from Chester, the Lady Rebels missed the 4th Region tournament for the second-straight season.
Todd County says goodbye to four seniors, including three of its top four scorers. Emoni Fort was second on the team in both points and rebounds, averaging 5.4 and 4.4, respectively. Johnson was third in both categories, with 4.7 ppg and 3.8 rpg, followed by point guard Jordan Weathers with 4.4 ppg and 21 3-point makes on the year.
After solid junior seasons, Eliza Simons and Jayla Leavell will return to provide some experience for what will be a young team in 2020-21. Simons averaged 3.8 ppg and 2.1 rpg, while Leavell chipped in 2.9 ppg and 2.5 rebounds per outing.
Chester leads the youth movement, after putting up a team-best 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Her 26 3-point makes and 36.6% from behind the arc also led the Lady Rebels. A couple of middle schoolers showed promise late in the season, with Abby Williams averaging just under 4 points over eight games, while Alexis Taylor scored 3.4 per game over her 7 appearances, including 8 in the district tournament loss to Logan County.