WS Chronicle

The East Forsyth girls’ basketball team defeated Reagan 55-46 to win the Bell, Davis & Pitt bracket of the Mary Garber Holiday Classic. The Eagles came into the tournament as the No.1 seed in the bracket and their play throughout the tournament showed why.

This is the first Mary Garber championship for head coach Aaron Grier and the first for the school since 2003. With all of the senior leadership the team lost to graduation, there were holes Grier needed to fill heading into the season, but he was confident he had the right players to step into those roles.

“I knew that losing the fab four from this previous season, I knew that we would still be a pretty strong group; it was just a matter of building chemistry on the court,” said Grier. “This was the first time playing without the vets, so it was going to be interesting to see how they adjusted to that, because some of the players who were role players the last few years are now key players, along with La’Niya Simes, which is my only returning starter from last year.”

Heading into the tournament, Grier says he put in a lot of work with the girls to make sure they were prepared for the season. Because there were no restrictions from the pandemic, he began working with his players in June and they had a successful summer league playing as a team. which helped build chemistry.

“We came right back starting in September once we were cleared to return to workouts and we really just dug deep in the offseason to prepare for this moment,” Grier said about the preparation for the season. “We didn’t really have too much game experience outside of what we did for the Blue-Chip Academy Fall League.”

The Eagles faced North Wilkes in the first round and then East Surry in the semifinals, before taking on the Raiders for the championship. Heading into the game, Grier knew the Raiders would be a tough opponent, but felt his girls had a good chance if they played up to their ability.

“Going into that game, I knew that Reagan was tough,” he said. “Reagan was tough last year even with our fab four, so I knew going in that if we came into the game with a lot of confidence and we played well, that we would have a good opportunity to win. The CPC conference is tough with Reagan, West Forsyth, and RJ Reynolds making noise with transfers from QEA. The CPC can be up for grabs and on any given day anyone can be beat.”

Prior to the tournament, Grier didn’t know whether or not his team or West Forsyth would get the No. 1 seed for the Mary Garber. He says whichever team received the No. 1 seed would have all eyes on them.

“I knew that having that number one seed would have a target on our backs,” said Grier. “As a number one seed, you have to go out and play. It’s the same thing like March Madness in NCAA. Those number one seeds get upset in bracket play, so that was something that I pushed to the girls every day that we practiced.

“We had to take each game one by one and I told those ladies that we have to play like a number one seed. We were favored to win, so we had to go out there and show them why we were the number one seed and I think that motivated them to really play hard.”

Winning the Mary Garber Championship can really boost a team’s morale, especially one like East Forsyth that is replacing four starters. “It lets us know that we can play at that level and play on a big stage in a hostile environment,” Grier stated. “It also shows that on any given day, if we don’t show up, we can definitely be beat, and my girls know that.”

The Eagles followed up their Mary Garber championship with two victories against Walkertown and Western Guilford. Grier was not worried that his girls would have “big heads” following their championship, because he likes to keep them level headed and focused on the bigger goal, which is a state championship.

“We were just going in, just trying to pull out a win and try to get my reserves a little more court time, because the Mary Garber games were so tight when it came down to the East Surry and Reagan games, so I had to shorten my bench,” he said about the Walkertown game. “I know going further into the schedule we are going to need our bench.”

To be able to maintain the level of excellence that Grier has this season after losing so much talent from last year’s team speaks volumes about the caliber of Coach Grier and the work he and his staff put in during the offseason.

“It’s just hard work behind the scenes,” he said. “I am a year-round coach and a lot of these coaches only coach during high school season. We go out to my travel basketball program, so I am always coaching and preparing with the girls, making sure they are on good quality teams.

“We constantly are working, and I made sure we didn’t go into this season unprepared. I just love the way I have changed the program here. I just come in and get what I get from the middle schools and those who show interest and trust the process really comes out on top. When you get gems like La’Niya Simes, Jayda Hoover and Mo Galloway that already know the game, it makes your job as a coach a little bit easier.”

Grier  knows that several Charlotte area teams will be tough to defeat, but feels his team has a chance to make a run in the playoffs.