Chemistry ignites 5-1 start for Warlassies
Leadership abounds on Owen roster
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
December 8, 2021
Six games into her second season as head coach of the Owen Warlassies basketball team, Chasity Simpson doesn’t have to search long to identify a team leader.
“It’s kind of like a team full of leaders,” Simpson said of her varsity roster, which has jumped out to a 5-1 start in its 2021-22 campaign. “They all just know what needs to be done, and they go out and do it.”
That’s been the case the vast majority of the time so far this season, as the Warlassies have outscored their opponents by a combined 311 - 155. The team’s record represents the program’s best start since the 2017-18 season, in which the Warlassies won 20 games. Simpson was an assistant coach that season, as she was for six years before taking over the head coaching position in 2020, bringing stability to a program that had five coaches in five seasons before she took over.
The head coach guided her team to a 5-8 record in a 2020-21 season that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. But, even with the loss of key senior players from last year’s roster, Simpson was optimistic about her current squad before the season.
“I expected us to come out, play hard and compete every night,” she said. “But, there was no way I thought we’d be 4-0 after four games.”
The hot start for the Warlassies began with a tough, 42-39, victory at home over West Henderson in November. They improved to 3-0 after a 56-12 win on the road against East Henderson before opening December with a 58-19 victory against Thomas Jefferson. Owen collected its fourth straight victory against Tuscola before dropping its first game of the season on the road against West Henderson on Dec. 7.
Owen junior Carly Hancock led the way for the Warlassies with 20 points, Dec. 8, in a 57-11 victory over East Henderson. Photo by Fred McCormick
The team’s ability to dominate games early in the season is a direct result of stingy, high-energy perimeter defense, according to Simpson.
“We have a team full of players who are great at pressuring the ball,” she said. “That’s worked well for us because they’re a quick, athletic and scrappy bunch of girls.”
The versatility of the players on Owen’s roster has been another crucial component of the team’s success.
“I can put Carly Hancock, a forward, in at point guard,” she said. “That’s the way it is all throughout the roster; they’re all kind of like utility players, but all of them can do specific things extremely well on any given night.”
With a rotating cast of players consistently stepping into the lead role, scoring has been even among many on the eight-player roster.
“If they’re not scoring, then they’re rebounding,” Simpson said. “Everyone steps up and does what needs to be done.”
The equally shared sense of commitment from the two seniors, four juniors, sophomore and freshman makes the group unique, she added.
“It’s not really a team with a real vocal leader,” Simpson said. “It’s more like a big group of smart and dedicated players who work really well together.”
That chemistry has been developed over years, according to junior guard Mia McMurry.
“We’ve all been playing together since middle school,” she said, following a 57-11 home victory over East Henderson on Dec.8. “None of us really need to tell each other what to do, and we all know what each other is thinking. We have great team chemistry.”
The bond between the players helps teammates communicate in a constructive way, she continued.
“If someone makes a mistake or is having a bad night, I won’t automatically just yell at them and tell them to do better,” McMurry said. “I know that a lot of my teammates don’t respond well to that, so we all know how to help each other stay positive and focused on the game.”
The early success has established momentum for Owen, which will open its Western Highlands Conference schedule at home against Draughn at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 14.
“We have a lot more confidence now,” said senior Mattie Lehman. “Coming into the season, a lot of us were unsure of how things would go. But, we’ve had some big wins, so we feel good about what we can do in the conference.”
Simpson anticipates her team to compete for a top spot in the WHC.
“If we continue to play how we’ve been playing, there’s no reason we won’t be one of the top two teams,” she said. “Our team chemistry improves every day, so we’re going to focus on staying humble and keeping things on the right track.”
A gallery of photos from Owen’s 57-11 victory over East Henderson can be viewed at the top of the page.