Mike Brown, Sports Correspondent
It’s only the third game of the season, it’s a non-region affair which has no impact on the big picture but it’s a game which could mark a remarkable accomplishment for Bryan County girls’ basketball coach Mario Mincey.
When the Redskins (2-0) hook up with South Effingham County (1-1) at 6 p.m. on Saturday at South Effingham they’ll be looking to get Mincey his 300th win at Bryan County.
Now in his 18th season Mincey has a young but veteran Bryan County team off to a fast start with solid wins over Evans and Liberty County as they shoot for–throwing out the disjointed COVID season of 2021—what would be their ninth straight 20 win season.
Mincey loves to play up in classification on the theory that the tougher the competition the better off his Class A-DII team will be once it gets into region play. His win-loss record has never been taken into consideration when it comes to scheduling.
“We want to play the bigger schools,” Mincey has often said. “I’m not worried about our record. Our goal is to win the region and a state championship.”
The Redskins are coming off a region championship and trip to the Sweet 16 but they are looking to go further this year and if the early results are any indication they are capable of doing so.
Bryan County rolled to a 55-38 win at Class 3A Liberty County on Tuesday night after opening the season with a 49-36 win over Class 5A Greenbrier last Saturday in the Evans Tip-Off Classic. South Effingham is also a Class 5A school.
Although it was the season opener for all the teams involved, the Redskins made a statement in the win over Greenbrier in a setting that Mincey found to his liking.
“I’m glad we got an opportunity to play in that event against another team from a higher classification,” Mincey said. “The environment at Evans High was great. It had a region tournament feel.
“Our overall defense has been pretty good,” Mincey said. “The play from our bench is something I have been very pleased with. The big thing right now is we have to do a better job at the free throw line.”
Senior center Ashanti Brown, a fourth-year starter who did not start playing basketball until the eighth grade, is on target to become the first Bryan County player with both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, took a big step toward reaching that goal.
Brown burned the Wolfpack for 27 points and 11 rebounds along with two blocks. Soniya Whitaker added eight points and five rebounds while point guard Jasmine Mikell played flawless defense while posting six points along with three assists and three steals.
Mikell led the way at Liberty County as the junior poured in 17 points with three steals and four assists. Harvey added 12 points, four rebounds and three steals while Brown scored 10 points while pulling down eight rebounds along with one block.
Mincey scored four points while coming up with eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks in providing another solid contribution off the bench.
“We had a good defensive effort in the second half to help pull out the win,” Mincey said. “It was another chance for us to play up a few classifications and on the road.”
Freshman Layla Mincey came off the bench to score four points while pulling down six rebounds to go with two steals, two assists and two blocks. Brown, Whitaker and Mincey give the Redskins a trio of “bigs” inside. Junior Liz Harvey also had two steals to go with four rebounds. Nevaeh Lovett contributed two steals while Briana Crawford was another bench contributor with two rebounds and playing some excellent defense.