For now, MAIS Class 5A girls basketball still appears to run through defending Overall champion Leake Academy. But Pillow Academy head coach Durwin Carpenter has seen enough in his 28 years leading the Lady Mustangs to know that this year’s group has the talent to go all the way.
The winningest girls basketball coach in the state with 1,100 career victories, Carpenter is also well aware that Pillow has a lot of growing up to do first. The Lady Mustangs graduated six key seniors from last year’s squad.
Making the transition even more difficult is the fact that this year’s starting five is fresh off a state championship in soccer, leaving them with just a week to prepare for their Oct. 19 season opener against Leake. Pillow trailed by just one at halftime before the Lady Rebels ran away with a 62-43 win in the second half.
“Change of direction and reaction in basketball is so quick,” Carpenter said. “It takes some time to get into that.
“We got to change a few of those little things, but our girls are catching on real quick. We’re excited about this group and feel like they can go a long ways this year with the possibility of winning a state championship. We got some good players.”
Carpenter regularly used a rotation of 10 or 11 girls last year, building depth that is paying dividends this year. Despite losing tons of veteran experience, the Lady Mustangs still have five starters who played plenty of big minutes off the bench last season. Madeline Mattox, an All-MAIS preseason selection, even filled in for injured star Kaylee Jones in the starting lineup during last year’s playoff run.
“Once we get into basketball shape, we should be a very good team this year,” Mattox said. “I believe that, and everybody else believes that.”
Mattox is a multi-sport standout who juggled softball and soccer in the fall, making both all-star teams. Now the versatile senior is ready to get back to focusing solely on her first athletic love.
“Basketball has been my favorite sport for as long as I can remember,” Mattox said. “That was the first ball I picked up, even when I was little bitty. It’s always been my passion.”
This summer, Mattox wanted to do more than just train at Twin Rivers Recreation, so she joined the three Howard sisters — senior Sarah Presley and sophomore twins Avery and Elise — on the Mississippi Jazz AAU squad.
“Just adding that to the core with our chemistry has helped a whole lot,” Mattox said. “We’re able to read what each other is doing.”
They sharpened their skills against elite Division I recruits and 6-footers with handle, even bringing home a trophy from the CYBL USA Championship in Alabama.
“We got a good group, a good program, but when they get into AAU they say, ‘Hey, these folks are really good,’” Carpenter said. “SEC players who are just unreal. They’ve had to face and play these players, so it just gives them a different mentality when it comes to basketball.”
Georgia Caroline Self, perhaps the team’s top defender, rounds out the Lady Mustangs’ starting lineup along with their quartet of club players.
“She’s got good foot movement,” Carpenter said of the speedy Self, the defending champion of the Viking 5K run. “(Defense) is something she wants to do.”
Avery Howard is the only forward of the bunch, so Pillow’s guard-heavy roster will likely push the pace and space the floor with a brand of small ball.
“We’re going to be able to pass the ball more efficiently, and driving will hopefully be open,” Mattox said. “Our outside shooting might surprise people. Everybody can shoot a 3-pointer on our starting five.”
The downside to the Lady Mustangs’ lack of size was exposed by Leake two weeks ago. Self locked down the Lady Rebels’ top scorer, junior guard Miriam Prince, but Pillow got burned by freshman center Katye Jones’ team-high 15 points. Most of the damage was done after Avery Howard went to the bench with foul trouble in the third quarter as Leake turned a close game into a blowout without the Lady Mustangs’ best interior presence.
“Once we figure out how to guard (Jones), I think we’ll be able to do really well,” Mattox said. “But we weren’t expecting such a tall person. She didn’t play last year so we had no clue she was there. I believe Avery is able to guard her.”
Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com.
