WS Chronicle

When it comes to girls’ basketball at Atkins High School, times have really changed.

In a three-year span, the Camels have grown from being bottom-feeders to being a legitimate factor in the ultra-competitive Northwest 1-A Conference. Atkins had its best season ever (17-5) and the outlook for next season is very bright. Most of that crew – which includes five rising seniors – will return.

Atkins served notice at the start of the season with an impressive showing at the Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic, the premier event for girls’ hoops in Forsyth County. Along the way, the Camels posted impressive wins over West Forsyth and Mount Tabor, two of the area’s better Class 4-A programs.

Even though they lost 54-50 in the Garber final, there’s no denying that Atkins is a rising force. The narrow loss came at the hands of Class 4-A Reynolds, a team that won 27 straight games before losing to Myers Park in Charlotte, who repeated as state champs.

Looking back over the season, the holiday tournament wins signaled the beginning of what would prove to be a marvelous season. In conference play, the Camels beat perennial power Bishop McGuinness twice and they split two games with rival Winston-Salem Prep, which won this year’s Class 1-A state championship. Atkins finished the regular season as the Northwest runner-up behind the Phoenix.

“This group came in as freshmen, but they had played in a lot of AAU games and were already seasoned,” said Coach Louis Lowery. “Still, they had to go through the process of learning what it takes to compete against more experienced players in big-game situations. It’s been very satisfying to watch them grow and mature.”

The key piece for the Camels is leading scorer Armani Hampton, a 5-feet-dimensions forward who’s attracting much attention from Division I programs. Hampton (16.5 points per game) makes an impact at both ends of the floor with her length, quickness and athleticism.

While Hampton is the undisputed central figure, she doesn’t have to be a solo act. Atkins has another Division I prospect in Saryna Carpenter (12.2 points per game), who complements Hampton as a productive low-post player who’s equally effective as a perimeter shooter.

The rest of the supporting cast includes combo guard Tyler Mercer, point guard Mikalah Muhammad and all-purpose forward Tyler Davenport. The development of Chandler Robinson is expected to produce handsome dividends. Robinson, an agile 6-feet-2 center, is a force on defense and she continues to improve as an offensive contributor.

“We have a core group of players who were able to step up in due time,” Lowery said. “They’ve learned how to win.”

As a whole, it was a highly-satisfying season for Atkins. But the way things ended was unexpected. The Camels suffered a stunning 44-35 upset loss to Bishop McGuinness in the opening round of the state playoffs. In reviewing what transpired on that day, it was clear that idle time had a lot to do with how Atkins performed.

Due to the winter storms in late February, the Camels had not played for nearly two weeks and were obviously rusty. They were sluggish on defense and had what was probably their worst shooting performance of the season.

The outcome in the playoffs was vastly different from the regular season, when Atkins topped the Villains in decisive fashion in their two meetings. Hampton averaged 24 points in those match-ups, but scored only six  points in that playoff game. Carpenter, in the meantime, led all scorers with 18 points, but her teammates struggled from start to finish.

The memory of how the season ended will undoubtedly give the Camels plenty of added incentive for next season. They’ve proven they can more than hold their own against Prep. Whether or not they can handle the Phoenix in a playoff setting is anyone’s guess.

In any case, the Camels will be fun to watch.