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The LaGrange Academy Middle School girls basketball team is on a tear. The Warriors are off to a blazing 9-2 start and the record does not quite do the team justice with one loss coming to a high school team and the other versus Callaway Middle. 

Britt Gaylor’s Warriors back down from no opposition.

“We were technically, I think, supposed to play Strong Rocks JV team, but they ended up just playing their varsity against us. And it was fun because all the girls were fired up about it. They weren’t worried about playing older girls. And we went out there and played them close most of the game. We ended up losing by ten, but we were in the game the entire way. And that was that was awesome to see that,” said Gaylor, the team’s head coach. 

The Warriors are playing their best ball of the young season as of late. LaGrange Academy beat Valley (AL) and Harris County Middle School teams at a tournament last week, proving that the Warriors can go toe-to-toe with public schools just as well as the private schools.

“We ended up beating both of them just because we were used to the physicality and we knew what to expect,” Gaylor said. “And so that game against Callaway earlier in the season was great for us, and we played well in stretches against them. I think we ended up losing about 20, but there was, there were good stretches that we took away from it and applied the rest of the year.

“​​They were fired up because they went out there and they took it to them. I mean, they played more physical in both games. They played tough defense. Against Harris County, they made a late push in the game, but we were so composed down the stretch, taking care of the ball, knocking down our free throws and it got the girls fired up.”

The current LaGrange Academy squad is chock-full of versatile talent. Molly Edelson is leading the team in scoring and assists and is one of the more talented young players to come through LaGrange Academy in some time.

“Molly Edelson is leading, leading us in scoring, but she’s also leading us in assists, and she, she’s really the connector, getting everybody involved. And it’s really radiated through the team. And again, they’re so much fun to coach when they’re playing together like that,” Gaylor said. “Molly’s sister Ava is also doing a lot on the court for us as are Halynn Pierson and Makenna Cagle.”

The Warriors have talented offensive players, but what separates the team from many of their peers is the size and all-around play of the players on the team

“Ava is so helpful on offense, taking care of the ball, knocking down open shots. Makenna, the same thing, taking care of the ball, knocking down open shots, but also she’s our best team defender in terms of, she knows how to guard the ball, but she also knows how to help and so she’s so good playing team defense with our girls, and then Halynn is just she’s so athletic and so fierce and aggressive on defense that she takes other teams best player out of the game completely. She’s done that pretty much in every one of our games this year,” Gaylor said. 

Eighth grader Katie Hill gives the team some size and rebounding while seventh grader Avery Vaughn gives the team some quickness and speed. All these girls alongside Syndey Thash, Liza Campbell and Kinsley Burgess have mostly been playing together for a year or more which gives the team such great chemistry.

“This is for most of them the second or third year in the program,” Gaylor said. “I think that myself and you go back to even when Coach (Ken) Klinger was the head coach, we have done a really good job of developing them as they came up through our youth program, doing things like going to camp and stuff like that. So we’ve watched these girls grow a lot in the last couple of years.”

The Warriors are enjoying a short break before a return to the court on the road to Brookstone on Jan. 8. Don’t expect any drastic New Year’s resolutions from the team as they look to keep the momentum rolling into 2025.