Tallahassee Comets Girls Basketball

Tallahassee Comets - Preparing Female Student-Athletes For Their Academic & Athletic Future!

Jim Henry
Posted on Fri, Jan. 30, 2004
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Malone boys catch up to girls' prowess

Malone is a tiny farming community in the Panhandle, nestled near the Florida-Alabama line. Locals say it's quiet and peaceful - until basketball season arrives.

Basketball, of course, has given the Malone Tigers a statewide identity. Since 1952, no school has won more state titles than Malone (13). The Class A Tigers won five consecutive crowns from 1994-98 in boys basketball, while the girls made the Final Four six times in the past eight years, winning in 2001.

Despite unprecedented success, Malone's mood was split in half last season.

Happy one night, howling the next.

The girls were highly successful despite losing to Miami Northwest Christian in the state-title game to finish 32-4. The boys, meanwhile, were mediocre. Change was needed, and it happened in an unusual way.

Doug Powell, who averaged 29 victories in eight seasons as the girls coach, agreed to become the school's athletic director and boys coach. LaTreisha Moon was hired from Huntsville, Ala., to take over the girls program. Well, guess what?

The girls are successful yet again.

And the boys are back.

"If you are at Malone and you don't win, you are going to hear about it," Powell said.

"The kids will hear about it from their peers, teachers, parents, even at Sunday school. The kids and community expect to win. There's a lot of pressure on them and they are fully aware of it. They want to win."

And Malone is winning.

The girls are 15-2, the boys 17-3. Both teams are determined to return to Lakeland, site of the state tournament. Moon, who had known of Malone's storied tradition, credits her team's desire and personality. The Tigers start one senior in Erica Smith. Juniors Kyndal Murdock and Kaci Wright are inside-outside threats.

"My first impression of this team? It was knowing it could work together," Moon said. "I also knew we had talent, but the biggest thing is the girls get along so well. They have fun, on and off the court. But we do work a lot here and these girls are very determined."

The Tigers have clinched the top seed in District 2, which includes Bethlehem, Graceville, Grand Ridge and Poplar Springs. Malone likes to set the game's tempo on offense while relying on zone defenses due to a lack of size. Murdock, on varsity since her freshman year, wants another chance at Miami Northwest Christian. It has beaten Malone the past two years at state.

"The third time might be the charm for us," Murdock said. "I think we have a lot of talent to get there (state), and it's just about putting it all together and playing as a team."

The boys are relying on a similar approach under Powell, who has been energized by the change.

"I felt it was time to do something different," Powell said.

"I felt we had done as much as we could do and I wanted a new challenge. The boys have responded and they've been fun to coach. I got in a spot with the girls that I felt we could win, even if we were being a little lazy. This has gotten us back to working very hard."

Leading scorer Josh Williams agrees. The Tigers rely on an aggressive defense and teamwork. After recent struggles, the community is no longer divided on game nights.

"We work on defense every day in practice," Williams said.

"Coach really understands the game and we are doing different things from last year. We all have more confidence in each other. Yes, it has been tough around here because we all know what people expect of us. It's about winning."