Go ahead and remind the Strawberry Crest Lady Chargers that they’re playing without star forward Aliyah Gregory and her 20.7 points per game.
They’ll probably just smile.
Though the team certainly misses having Gregory around, it hasn’t missed a beat without the current UCF Lady Knight. In fact, Crest is playing even better basketball as a whole than it did a year ago.
Last year’s team, which finished at 25-5 and made the regional semifinals, averaged 62.6 points, 30.6 rebounds, 12 assists, 22.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game. This year, Crest is beating every single one of those marks. In some cases, the team is even blowing the old numbers away.
With 65.8 points, 44.2 boards, 14.8 assists, 25.2 steals and 14.3 blocks per game, one would never guess at first glance that Crest lost any major contributors this year.
“It’s just keeping them motivated,” head coach La’Tosha Lewis says. “It’s saying, ‘Hey, we can do this without Aliyah Gregory,’ because everybody here has been with me for three or four years. It’s expected — we have built a winning program, a winning tradition.”
It’s true that the Lady Chargers have been a perennial contender since 2012, when Crest went 20-8 and made it to the playoffs for the first time. It’s just that, now, anyone who pins all of those Chargers teams’ successes on Gregory appear to be wrong.
SENIOR POWER
It helps that this team has seniors with strong leadership qualities, girls whom Lewis can rely on to keep a cool head in any situation. These girls are also some of the biggest contributors to the stat sheet, as they have been for some time.
Specifically, Maiya Trigg and Nandi Jordan have consistently been key parts of the Crest machine for several years now. They may not have gotten the same attention as their old teammate, but these girls can’t be ignored on the stat sheet.
Trigg has always been a reliable scorer. The senior point guard is on pace to match or top her best statistical season, 2012-13, with averages of 14.2 points, 4.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game. She is leading the Lady Chargers in scoring for the first time in her career.
Jordan, the team’s center, is nearly averaging a double-double, with 8.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Her six blocks per game lead all players in the area, and her presence on the floor always helps reinforce the district’s second-best defense.
With several talented youngsters seeing plenty of minutes, it’s up to leaders like Trigg and Jordan to help them realize their potential on the court. So far, their approach has worked.
“We’ve just got to believe in each other,” Trigg says. “As long as we have each other’s backs out there, everything’s alright. We all share the ball — if everybody touches the ball, we’re hot. As long as we do that, we’ll be fine.”
This had led to the emergence of the Matthews twins, Ayanna and Brianna — a pair of sophomore guard-forwards who have gotten big minutes in every game. Ayanna averages 11.3 points and 3.5 steals per game. Brianna is averaging 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds. Trigg predicts that these two will be some of Crest’s top performers when this round of seniors leaves, and it’s not hard to believe her.
Of course, it’s not just these girls who have combined to help fill the void that Gregory left.
TWO-SPORT STAR
There’s also junior forward Terra Brooks, who is perhaps coming the closest of anyone to replacing that output.
Brooks is a gifted athlete, notable on more than just the basketball court; She has been widely regarded as one of the most fearsome middle blockers in Hillsborough County volleyball and was named a first-team All-Star at the end of this past season.
Naturally, she’s been doing an admirable job of taking over many of Gregory’s duties. Brooks led the team in rebounding last year, with seven boards per game and is currently doing it again with 11.3 per game. She’s also getting 4.2 blocks per game, which Gregory had never done while at Crest.
Though Brooks is already an excellent defender, she acknowledges that her offensive game still has room to grow. She’s averaging 10 points per game, which is nothing to scoff at, but has been working to become a greater threat to score whenever she has the ball.
“I’ve added better post moves, and I’m getting stronger,” Brooks says. “I can say that my drop steps are a lot better, and controlling the ball, and boxing out.”
She serves as one of the basketball team captains. And although she’s still a junior, she possibly has more career minutes already than many area seniors have through their prep careers.
“My coach expects a lot from me,” Brooks says. “I have to keep my guard up and just be a key player on this court. People look up to me — I have to be a good example.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
CHARGE ON AT HOME
There are two more home games for Strawberry Crest before Christmas break. Games start at 6:30 p.m.
12/16 – vs. East Bay
12/18 – vs. Tampa Bay Tech.
The gym is located at 4691 Gallagher Rd., Dover.