Upstart Lady Rebels got taste of winning, looking for more

The Vestavia Hills High School girls basketball team began to emerge last season as a threat to beat anybody on a given night.

The Lady Rebels took a major step forward during the 2018-19 season, posting an 18-10 record and achieving consistency from start to finish. They won seven of their first 10 games, won 11 of 13 over the course of December, and won a couple of Class 7A, Area 6 games.

Laura Casey stepped down as head coach following the successful season and John David Smelser has taken the reins of what has the potential to be a high-level team in 2019-20. Smelser comes to Vestavia Hills from Tuscaloosa Academy, where he led the girls basketball program to consecutive state championships in the Alabama Independent School Association in 2018 and 2019.

“We have got a lot coming back,” Smelser said in the weeks leading up to the season. “We graduated two starters (Grace Uldrich and Courtney Milner) but we’re returning a lot of our scoring.”

Smelser went to work in the summer and fall, installing a new system on both sides of the floor. He has been encouraged by the sense of urgency that the team has carried over from the end of last season.

“They got a taste of winning, and that’s always a good thing,” he said. “It brings some excitement and a little added motivation. A lot of what we talked about was how do you become a winner and what does it look like.”

It didn’t take long for the Lady Rebels to take Smelser’s emphasis on defense. Leading up to the season, he called it a staple of the team. In Vestavia’s first game of the year on Nov. 12, the Lady Rebels held Hueytown to just 18 points.

“They understand the importance of defense,” Smelser said. “They’re going to get after it and play extremely hard. I believe if you can get down and play defense and make it tough on your opponent, you’re going to score enough points to win in most cases.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Lady Rebels are aiming to be able to attack opponents in a variety of ways.

“We want to score early if we can,” Smelser said. “We talk a lot about early offense. But at the same time, if we can’t get what we want early, we really want to try to slow it down and execute.”

Vestavia Hills’ roster features more guards than post players, and Smelser said he feels comfortable with four or five of those guards handling the ball on any given possession. Smelser envisions most of the Lady Rebels’ offense coming from “four-out” sets, with four guards and one forward on the floor.

“We’re guard-heavy,” he said. “That can be a good thing and a bad thing. As long as we can rebound on the defensive end, we’ll be a mismatch.”

The Lady Rebels’ top returning scorer is Emma Smith, a sophomore who has played varsity ball alongside twin Ally since they were in eighth grade.

“She can do it all,” Smelser said. “She handles the ball, she can play off the ball, she can shoot. She’s a leader, a quarterback out there.”

Sophomore Carley Smith, freshman Anna Towry, Ally Smith and juniors Alison Stubbs and Josie Edwards are other guards that could handle the ball if needed. Smelser touted Carley Smith for her ball-handling.

Despite being a freshman, Towry will be a big part of the Lady Rebels’ success this season. Stubbs and Edwards are both “very versatile” and can play any position on the floor, their coach said. Ally Smith is a “knockdown shooter,” with senior Anna Wood fitting into that same category.

Down low, the Lady Rebels will rely on senior forward Arden Plugge, who recently signed with UAB to play college softball. Suzy Woodruff is another post player that is a dual-sport athlete, as she also plays soccer. Katie Kimbrough and Julie Dixon are forwards that have moved up from the junior varsity team a year ago.

Smelser said his goal entering a season is for his team to “win our last game.” It may be unrealistic to expect the Lady Rebels to make it all the way to the state championship, but a regional berth — something that hasn’t been accomplished since 2011 — is certainly not out of the question.

Before entering the Class 7A, Area 6 gauntlet of Spain Park, Hewitt-Trussville and Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills has plenty of challenges in the month of December. The Lady Rebels will play Helena, Grissom, Homewood, Oxford, Oak Mountain and play in tournaments at Fort Payne and Decatur.

Smelser is bullish on his team’s potential to take another step this winter.

“This team is really good,” he said. “They’re going to be a thorn in people’s side.”