Four years ago the Maynard Jackson girls were forced to start four freshmen. Now the Jaguars are continuing to reap the benefits and that young group is now battle-tested, experienced and ready to make another run at a state championship.
“They all came in it together and the reality was that I was forced to have them start as freshman,” coach Maurice Miles said. “They’ve made the playoffs every year, so they’ve got a lot of experience under their belt and that makes a big difference.”
That group of freshman went 19-5 and reached the second round of the state playoffs. Since then they’ve got 17-4, losing in the third round to eventual champion Woodward Academy, and 26-2, losing to eventual champion Kell in the Final Four.
This year the Jaguars are 17-1 and in first place in Region 5. They’ve already beaten the two other state-ranked teams in their league – besting No. 6 Midtown 55-47 and No. 3 Creekside 66-52, but rematches forthcoming against both.
“It kind of keeps the momentum moving forward,” Miles said. “Sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win and this crew has definitely done that. We’ve had some setbacks, but we’ve been able to move on to the next stage.”
The team is led by senior Taliah Cornish, a 5-foot-7 junior, who averages a team-high 14.7 points. Cornish, who also carries a 4.0 GPA, is still undecided about where she’s going to play college ball.
“She’s having a great year,” Miles said. “I told her, the further we get in the state, the better the college offers are going to be and it easier it will be for her to make that decision.”
Senior Shakira Gresham, a 5-10 forward, is another one of those freshmen who have been along for the ride. Gresham is a strong inside player who averages 8.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals.
The development of sophomore Kennedie Cooper, a 5-3 point guard, has been fun to watch. Williams is a non-stop ball of energy on the floor who averages 10.3 points, 3.6 assists and 4.4 steals per game.
“She can get loose at any minute and turn the whole tide of the game,” Miles said. “She can explode and take a game over.”
Miles uses a lot of players in and out of the lineup. There are eight players who average at least 4.5 points and everyone on the roster typically gets to play. The other main contributors include sophomore Cayden Cornish (7.9 points), junior Aaliyah Weaver (6.6 points, 2.3 rebounds), junior Journey Conley (5.5 points, 4.5 rebounds), senior British McKinney (5.3 points, 4.8 rebounds) and senior Lindsey Myles (4.5 points, 3.5 rebounds).
“It’s a very deep bench,” Miles said. “That’s another thing I’ve tried to incorporate because we play a lot of younger kinds, sophomores and freshman. That’s where the experience comes from because they all play and they play a lot of minutes. We’ll shuffle them in and out to give them a chance. We’re probably 13 deep and there’s not much fall-off between 1 and 13.”
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