Defending state champion Lady Bulldogs won’t be complacent after last year’s historic run

After losing a significant percentage of the starting lineup from last year’s state championship team, the Bearden girls basketball team will build a new rotation around reigning state tournament MVP Avery Treadwell.

Treadwell was the only underclassman to start last year, and all five seniors in the Class of 2022 played significant minutes.

Coach Justin Underwood has no doubt that the Lady Bulldogs still have plenty of talent, but the inexperience of players will be a challenge this season. 

“A lot of these girls were here last year and played minutes or practiced against the seniors. So they have some experience going against them day to day,” Coach Underwood said. “We have a lot of kids that haven’t been in Tuesday night, Friday night lights.”

Treadwell, a Florida State signee and the team’s lone senior, has been a standout player since her freshman year. Now that she is the oldest on the team, all the younger girls look up to her.

“She is our leader, and we go as she goes,” Coach Underwood said.

The team consists of a lot of young talent. During pre-season, Treadwell made sure that everyone understood their roles on the team. 

“We have a lot of new faces this season, and we have spent a lot of time during preseason kind of getting used to playing with each other,” Treadwell said. 

Underclassmen Natalya Hodge, Lindsay Wilson, Amanda Parker, Emma Rainey, Kendall Murphy, Laney Cox, and Rachel Wilhoit are a few names to look out for this season. 

After winning a state title last year, the Lady Bulldogs have big goals and expectations for the season. 

“Somebody asked me, ‘Do I think our program is on autopilot?’ And I think it is actually the exact opposite,” Coach Underwood said. “Once you have had a chance to taste such high success, it is very difficult to not want to achieve the highest goal.”