[BIGBLACK]

Rise of the Hornets
Trio has led team to 82 wins in 100 games

by Jason Hurt
Paintsville Herald Sports Columnist


The Magoffin County Lady Hornets’ basketball team is poised for a return trip to E.A. Diddle Arena and the KHSAA state basketball tournament.
They currently hold a 23-3 record, playing perfect in 57th District action while losing only once to 15th Region foes.
To say that Lady Hornets’ basketball has come a long way is the understatement of the last dozen years.
It wasn’t easy at first.
The girls basketball program at Magoffin County High School was disbanded sometime in the early 1980s and was not reorganized until 1993. That’s when current Magoffin County boys’ coach Neil West took over. Current girls’ coach Steve Miller joined him a year later.
The two long-time friends struggled the first five years and often were beaten by 50 points or more.
Magoffin County Athletics Director Sam Miller remembers a 77-8 loss and can recall a game against Johnson Central when the Lady Hornets could not get the ball across half court in the first half.
“We really struggled those first years,” Sam Miller said. “But through all of the adversity, the coaches persevered, the players believed and eventually prevailed.”
During the 1999-2000 season, West led the Lady Hornets to the .500 mark with an 11-11 mark. They finished a game under average the next year but really broke out in 2001-02. The Lady Hornets went 21-10 and defeated Sheldon Clark 66-61 at Johnson Central to advance to the school’s first regional tournament in girls’ basketball.
It just so happened a trio of talent arrived on the 15th Region stage as seventh-graders that season.
Now seniors, Ashley J. Howard, Brittany Manns and Michaela Howard have been dominant players in this region and beyond. All three have surpassed the 1,000-point club for their prep careers and have led the Lady Hornets to a 131-45 record and five 20-win seasons since they were seventh-graders.
All three girls were on the first regional team and Ashley J. Howard made the All-District team.
“It seems their names always belong in the same sentence,” Sam Miller noted.
All three play basketball with the same exciting enthusiasm. They just play as hard as they can all the time. But they do differ some.
Ashley J. Howard plays with no fear, and without any thought of her own physical care. If the ball’s loose or if the defense gives just a very small inch, she will try to take it. She is just a natural athlete with the ability to score.
I’ve said Manns is the best three-point shooter I’ve seen in a while. And yes, that means boys or girls. She is also very unselfish, driving to the basket (it seems with ease) and finding open teammates.
Michaela Howard has become the most versatile. After recovering from a knee injury, she has become one of the best post players around. She can also step out and hit the three.
And they all can play defense.
As good as this trio is, they still need good complimentary players. And they’ve had talented players around them. According to West, Calloray Howard, Whitney Lovely and Kelli Montgomery are other past players who have scored over 1,000 points as the program kept improving.
There have been several other good players the last few years but one who stands out to me this season is sophomore Ashley Hall.
Hall has emerged to make this trio a quartet of special players. Her reserve role has increased to starter as the Lady Hornets have played through injuries. Hall has taken advantage and picked up the slack left by the injured Ashley J. Howard. She can shoot, play the point, defend and pass. She has scored double figures in several games, including a 27-point night in the Lady Hornets’ latest win against Fleming County.
In a little over a week, the Lady Hornets will vie for their fourth straight 57th District title and second straight 15th Regional crown. They’ve won 82 of their last 100 games.
“The girls deserve all the credit,” Steve Miller said. “I just feel fortunate enough to be their coach.”
Sam Miller also gives credit to the coaches: “Coach West and Miller have been friends since the first grade and this bond helped them to always be on the same page when it comes to coaching and preparation.”
He also noted the work of grade school coach Sanford Holbrook: “Coach Holbrook’s work ethic not only developed some outstanding high school prospects but his teams’ successes motivated the other county grade school programs.”
West led the team to its first regional tournament appearance in 2001-02, and to the school’s first ever win in the regional tournament the next season with a 66-64 win at Shelby Valley.
The school’s first girls’ basketball district title came in 2003-04 and they haven’t lost one since.
Ashley J., Brittany, Michaela, and now Ashley Hall, along with the rest of the Lady Hornets, will try to extend a 10-game winning streak over the next week before they defend their district and regional titles.
There’s only one question left to be answered: Which one of the three seniors is the best?
Sam Miller has the answer.
“Someone asked me that a couple of years ago,” he said. “My reply was, whichever one has the ball.”