Coach Glenna Lewis has Matoaca High’s girls basketball team playing arguably the best basketball they have played in her nine-year tenure. Building off last year’s 19-win season, the Warriors have shot out of the gate, winning nine of their first 10 games. “Like we thought in the preseason, we have been able to play our whole team in the majority of our games,” Lewis said. “That definitely helps us out defensively.” “We are playing well in all position,” Lewis said. “We are seeing players develop and mature as we play and have had people step up big in pressure games,…

Jaden Watkins For L.C. Bird High’s girls basketball, it’s been more of the same this year – success in the face of whatever circumstances arise. Led in part by sisters Kielle and Kiyah Shaw’s defensive prowess, the Skyhawks have jumped out to a 7-1 start despite playing without last year’s leading scorer, Mya Coleman, who is lost for the season, and Kameron Brown, another important offensive player. “We don’t have a secret that we live by at Bird. Everyone asks what our secret is,” head coach Chevette Waller said. “The girls buy into what we do. They know that defense…

ABOVE: The Matoaca Middle School girls basketball team recently won the Chesterfield County championship and finished the season with a 12-1 record. The team was honored at the Dec. 12 board of supervisors meeting. From left: assistant coach Donald Pollard, head coach Kim Pond, Brianna Montalvo, Alexa Whitlow, Ava Walker, Lauryn George, Samantha Smith, Allyson Booth, LiLa Donnelly, Kylie Booth, Emily Clark, Addison Thompson, Alyssa Thompson, Kennedy Murrell, Jada Coleman (obstructed) and Matoaca District supervisor Steve Elswick. Not pictured: Faith Brown, Abigail Wells, Kendra Carter, manager Elizabeth Stevenson and assistant coach Kym Donnelly. The Matoaca Middle School girls basketball team recently…

ABOVE: Meadowbrook point guard Isaiah Richardson moves with the ball. (Rob’s DigiPix)  Knights focused on team building With a team that struggled to a 7-16 record last year, Thomas Dale High’s head coach Braxton Byerson is bent on improving the program, and believes his team made strides in the offseason.  “We are putting an even bigger emphasis on ‘team’ this year,” Byerson said. “Chemistry and putting the right guys together on the floor will help us win.” The Knights had one player head to the next level in Amari Brown, who’s currently on the roster at Berkeley State University (West…

L.C. Bird High sharpshooter Kenny Williams shocked many when he chose North Carolina over Virginia Commonwealth University after Shaka Smart left the Rams for Texas, but few have been shocked at the success he’s found as a Tar Heel. While his three-point shooting hasn’t quite been what Chesterfield County was used to seeing this year (5 for 26, 19.2 percent), Williams has found a way to keep himself firmly in the starting lineup through his ball handling. He leads the team with 33 assists through its first seven games, and his 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second on the team. Of…

Former L.C. Bird High point guard Madison Baum was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 5-10. Baum opened the season for Bridgewater College with 14 points, nine assists and five steals as the Eagles notched  92-82 victory over William Peace. The sophomore guard graduated from L.C. Bird in 2016. Although short in stature at 5 feet even, she wasn’t short on playmaking or leadership. Despite tearing her ACL during her senior year for the Skyhawks, Bridgewater stuck with her, and has been rewarded. During her freshman season, she started…

Meadowbrook High recently announced the newest addition to their coaching staff with Sam Bryant taking the helm of the boys’ basketball program. “I’ve been in the hallways. I’ve been over there,” Bryant said. “The best thing about those hallways is that they are filled with tall and athletic basketball players.” Bryant, a Benedictine Preparatory graduate, played under Warren Rutledge. After a season at Camden Military prep school in South Carolina, he went on to play collegiately at Newberry College. As a coach, he has spent the last 15 seasons at Armstrong High School as an assistant under coach Daryl Watts.…

L.C. Bird High School’s basketball program is no stranger to developing college prospects. From the days of Chuck Tester to Chevette Waller’s success with the girls’ basketball program, Chuck Thomas to Troy Manns, athlete after athlete has signed on the dotted line. Although there have been mega recruits such as Taja Cole (Louisville/Georgia) and Kenny Williams (North Carolina), there have been many Division II and Division III recruits as well. Rising senior Jamon “Doc” Battle’s stock has steadily risen, as he’s collected 15 offers during recent times. The athletic guard has a cornucopia of mid-major offers, most recently from Longwood…