Young Dickson County girls basketball plays beyond its years

Anthony Mazzolini
The Tennessean
Dickson County coach Catie Embrey has a talk with her team as they play Antioch on Fri. Feb. 23, 2018.  Photo by Dave Cardaciotto

ANTIOCH – There's a danger in inexperience that shows itself in inconsistency, and Dickson County girls' basketball coach Caity Embrey hasn't been afraid to call out her players when she sees a slip up. It comes in the form of two simple questions.

"Where's your hunger level? Where's your passion level?"

Embrey's inquiries served as a reminder for the young Cougars this postseason to play each game with fire and not allow a letdown in intensity. It didn't always work, but even in those defeats came lessons.

"Any experience – any big win or any big loss – is great experience moving forward for them," Embrey said.

That's because most of Dickson County's lineup was lacking in it entering this season, which may come as a surprise for a program that had battled its way into three straight Class AAA state championship tournaments.

Last year's crew fared the best, calling upon its experience the prior two seasons to survive a double-overtime thriller in the opening round of the state bracket to reach the semifinals.

But gone from that group was every major contributor outside of Kailey Rosenbaum, the Cougars' 6-foot-2 presence in the post. In 2017-18, the Lipscomb signee was the roster's only senior. That forced Dickson County's juniors, of which there were only two, to play the role of veteran leaders.

"Even our sophomores too needed to step up," said Ryann Roberts, who along with Raegan Purvine marked the only two juniors for the Cougars. "We've been ready for that challenge. Everybody has stepped up this year and really filled their role well."

Dickson County's Ryann Roberts drives past Antioch's Jaila Mathews on Fri. Feb. 23, 2018.  Photo by Dave Cardaciotto

Roberts saw some starting time in last year's state tournament, but was never the focus of the offense. She hardly played at all at state the year before as a freshman. But even from the bench she took in the atmosphere in preparation for this season, her time.

"There's a huge difference (at state)," she said. "It seems like everything is on you. That's the biggest moment of a basketball player's career and the energy is hyped up and flying."

The energy was in the same vein Friday in Antioch's gym for the first round of the Region 6-AAA tournament where Dickson County played a quasi-road game despite owning the higher seed. With a full season of seasoning behind them, the Cougars calmly rebounded from a slow start – they led 6-4 through a quarter – to lead the rest of the way and advance, 52-39.

Experienced players avoid frustration when struggles set in, and Dickson County found its confidence by the end of the season, Embrey noted.

"It's part of the coach's job to really try to train and teach them up to be leaders as well," Embrey said. "To get them to be the kind of leaders that you want."