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Photos by Savannah Schmidt.
From left, Vestavia Hills girls varsity basketball seniors Sarah Gordon (33), Grayson Hudgens (12), Jordan Madsen (31), Rosemary Gill (15), Emma Gordon (32) and Jill Gaylard (2) after a win against Oak Mountain on Jan. 15.
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Photos by Savannah Schmidt.
Vestavia's Jill Gaylard (2) dribbles the ball during the Vestavia vs. Oak Mountain basketball game at Vestavia Hills High School on Jan. 14.
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Photos by Savannah Schmidt.
Vestavia’s Emma Gordon (32) shoots the ball.
The resurgence of the Vestavia Hills High School girls basketball program over the last several years has been impressive to watch.
Laura Casey, who served as the head coach for much of the 2010s, saw it coming. She saw the potential of the group led by twins Emma and Ally Smith when they were in elementary school.
She forecast greatness for the future and was spot on.
John David Smelser took over as head coach ahead of the 2018-19 season and has guided the program to those lofty heights. Emma Smith rewrote the record books at Vestavia, eclipsing 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds and graduating as the leading scorer in program history. She also led the team back to the state final four and came within one game of a state championship in her senior year.
But Emma Smith’s class was only the tip of the iceberg. Vestavia Hills once again has one of its most capable teams in program history in the 2024-25 season, thanks to another strong class. This year’s six seniors have kept up the winning ways and have their sights set on a blue map in their final season.
This year’s team is led by Sarah Gordon, who recently became the new all-time leading scorer in Vestavia Hills history. She crossed the 2,000-point threshold in early January and took the top spot a couple of games later.
But she’s one of six seniors on this year’s team, and all six together make this version of the Lady Rebels capable of winning it all.
“We know this is our last run together, so we’re taking it all in,” Gordon said. “We’re all up here in the mornings, putting in that extra effort, because we know it’s our last time.”
Sarah Gordon, Emma Gordon, Jordan Madsen, Jill Gaylard, Grayson Hudgens and Rosemary Gill have certainly already made their mark on Vestavia basketball and have a few more weeks to add some more high notes to their final chapter.
Many of them have played together for as long as they can remember, with Sarah estimating that at least four of them played on the same team in third grade. On senior night, the best way to reminisce over the past several years was a shared photo album, since so many of their basketball photos involve each other.
That connection translates to the basketball court as well.
“We all play off each other’s strengths. We know what everybody’s going to do before they actually do it. We’re all best friends outside of basketball, too. We’re all so close that it makes it easy,” Sarah Gordon said.
Sarah Gordon is headed to the University of Pennsylvania next year to continue her basketball career. She said she never set out to play college basketball, and there was never any sort of dream school. When she first received the offer from Penn, she never thought it would eventually turn into her reality. But after going on an official visit and talking things over with her family, she was convinced it was the right move for her.
“I never really thought I would, because it’s so far away, but I can now see myself going there, and I’m excited about it,” she said.
All six seniors have been in the program for many years. Sarah Gordon, Gaylard, and Hudgens saw some varsity time as eighth graders and have been playing starter minutes ever since.
Madsen is a multi-sport athlete who is set to play beach volleyball in college at the University of New Orleans. Smelser said she “holds the team together” and has the highest basketball intelligence of anyone on the team.
Gill returned to the lineup this season after missing last year with a knee injury. Smelser said she “didn’t skip a beat” coming back this year.
One of Smelser’s favorite stories is that of Emma Gordon, Sarah’s twin sister. Emma played on the junior varsity team as a freshman and has spent the last three years carving out a role on the varsity team. She’s always in the right place, doing the right thing, at the right time, according to her coach.
Smelser said that once this storied class moves on, he will have an endless supply of stories to share with future players.
“There’s examples with all six of them that I’ll be able to use down the road with kids,” he said.
The road has not been, and will not be, easy for this Lady Rebels squad. They are in an area that features Hoover and Hewitt-Trussville. The three programs are arguably the top three in Class 7A girls basketball over the last five years. Only two of them will advance beyond the area tournament, and a maximum of one can advance past the regional tournament to the state finals.
But Smelser believes his group has what it takes to potentially emerge once the dust settles.
“This group just keeps developing and keeps getting better. We’re better now than we’ve ever been with this group, and that’s a testament to them not being complacent. Even though they’re having a lot of success, they understand we’re not where we need to be yet,” he said.
Smelser can tell a story similar to the one Casey told for many years. Upon taking the job in 2019, he watched a group of middle schoolers playing and had an inkling of what might be possible.
“I didn’t even know them yet, but I was excited. You could tell they could play, you could tell they understood the game,” he said.
He knows the group he has is special. He feels fortunate to be along for the ride. He, like the rest of the Lady Rebels, will be soaking in every moment the rest of the way.
“I’m just lucky to be their coach, but I’m fortunate to have them,” he said. “It’s definitely a special group that you don’t get much, maybe once in my career?”
That “special group” has one thing left to achieve.
“They want to win a state championship. That’s their goal and vision,” Smelser said.