Blake Smith pondered the question he was asked at the state tournament, but had already given the Wildcats’ journey some thought during the course of the season.
The team most likely to beat the Wildcats on their quest to win a third consecutive state championship was Trinity.
“Any time you’re going for a threepeat, the enemy isn’t other people,” Smith said. The enemy is what’s inside of us.”
“The enemy” was also a bad stroke of luck that sidelined two of the Wildcats’ best players. Francie Morris missed six weeks with a hip injury and Mya Moskowitz was sidelined over several games with a nagging knee injury.
Into that void stepped senior point guard Maddie Smith, who would rally the team with her play on both ends of the court, allowing the Wildcats to win 11 of the 12 games that Morris or Moskowitz missed, keeping Trinity on track to win an area title, the area tournament, the Central Regional and the 4A state championship.
Her performance led the Capital City Conference coaches to name her as the player of the year and Blake Smith as the coach of the year for the third consecutive year.
“We wouldn’t want to play any games without Mya or Francie,” Blake Smith said, “but as a whole, it did allow some other people to develop that ended up making big plays down the stretch. For Maddie in particular, it puts her in a position that at times she shies away from a little bit. She’s a facilitator at heart, that’s just what Maddie is -- make the other people better, be the foundation, the coach on the floor directing everybody.
“But I think it taught her how to get a basket when she needs to get a basket and when she needs to share the ball, she needs to share the ball. And that’s what great players do. They know when they need to get people involved and they know when they need to score.”
Maddie Smith averaged 15.4 points, 5.4 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 steals this season, finishing her career with 2,512 points, third in Capital City Conference history (and 46th in Alabama High School Athletic Association history) behind Catholic’s Michelle Delongchamp (2,685 in 1990) and Saint James’ Leslie Claybrook (2,668 in 1989).
Without Morris and Moskowitz, the Wildcats’ point production fell off, putting more of a premium on the efforts of Smith on both ends of the floor.
“What I noticed was her moving a lot more without the basketball in an attempt to get the basketball back,” Blake Smith said, “as opposed to just spacing the floor. But that, again, is kind of her tendency, to make sure everything is OK.”
Her defensive ability, particularly in containing Catholic’s Hannah Smith in the regionals or Plainview’s Sawyer Kate Hulgan in the semifinals, was a primary factor in the Wildcats’ success.
“Physicality and holding your ground, she is so excellent at that,” Blake Smith said. “When you bump her, she just doesn’t move. The weight room added to it, but even at a young age, you could sense that in her. That willingness to take on contact and understanding leverage kind of came naturally. Hand speed is one of her biggest assets. She has very quick and active hands.
“The other thing about Maddie defensively is her mind is never checking out. It’s always on.”
Maddie Smith and Hannah Smith have made the first team in each of the last four years. This is the third time on the first team for Morris and the third year Natalie Barton of Saint James and Moskowitz have made the team, either on the first team or the second team.
ALL-CAPITAL CITY CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL
FIRST TEAM
Maddie Smith 5-8 G Sr. Trinity
Hannah Smith 6-0 G/F Jr. Catholic
Natalie Barton 5-8 G So. Saint James
Francie Morris 5-8 G Sr. Trinity
Morgan Lilly 5-7 G 8th Saint James
SECOND TEAM
Heaven Bailey 5-5 G So. Catholic
Mya Moskowitz 5-11 G/F Sr. Trinity
Kaitlin Mitchell 5-9 G Fr. Saint James
Jordyn McRae 5-11 F 8th Saint James
Katelyn Sutton 5-3 G Sr. Alabama Christian
PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- Maddie Smith, Trinity
COACH OF THE YEAR -- Blake Smith, Trinity
Honorable Mention: Kaci Armistead, 5-4, G, So., Montgomery Academy; Ellie Causey, 5-7, G, Jr., Trinity; Sophia Cho, 5-8, G, Sr., Montgomery Academy; Bailey Davis, 5-9, G, 8th, Montgomery Academy; E.G. Hines, 5-6, G, So., Montgomery Academy; Sydney Johnston, 5-6, G, Jr., Saint James; Jaide Newkirk, 5-11, F, Sr., Alabama Christian; Lilly Smith, 5-9, F, Fr., Trinity; Aja Tuggle, 6-0, G, Fr., Catholic; Caroline Waller, 5-8, F, Sr., Montgomery Academy.
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