First-year coach, Haile, wins two coach of the year awards
Fresh off a Region 2 championship and two region coach of the year awards, first-year Henderson County High School Coach Stephen Haile and his Lady Colonels will take on the Owensboro Red Devils Thursday in the Sweet Sixteen at Rupp Arena.
Haile said Thursday’s game will be different than when the Lady Cols beat the Red Devils 56-48 on Jan. 27. In that game, Owensboro was without one of its best players, Alyrika Hughes, who was out with a concussion, Haile said. He described her as a “difference maker.”
“It should be a good basketball game,” Haile said.
The game will be 12:30 p.m. CST Thursday.
The Lady Cols defeated Hopkins County Central 55-33 Saturday to win the Second Region.
In that game, HCHS got off to a slow start offensively, but were able to force many turnovers, Haile said in a radio interview after the game. The team also ended up shooting 2 for 22 from the three-point line. Both point to the difference this year’s team when compared to last year’s team, which was a more offensive-minded team, Haile said.
This year’s team has had to focus on defense, and Haile said this group has bought in on that.
“We pride ourselves on our defense,” he said, adding that he knew this team was a special, talented group, pointing to their athleticism and speed.
The Lady Cols forced 31 turnovers against Hopkins County Central. Additionally, sophomore guard A’Tylia Green Saturday broke the HCHS single-season record for steals, with 129 heading into the Sweet Sixteen.
After a 4-4 start, it may have appeared the Lady Cols were going to hover around .500 for the season, but Haile said he wasn’t surprised of the strides the team has made. He said their work ethic has remained constant from summer games all the way through the season.
“Our girls have continued to mature as people and also as basketball players,” he said.
After the first eight games, the Lady Cols have gone 21-3 for a 25-7 record going into the Sweet Sixteen.
Haile said it’s doubtful that starter sophomore Brooklyn Gibson will play Thursday. She injured her knee in the regional semifinal Friday night in the Lady Cols 58-40 win against Christian County.
To fill that void, he said he’ll ask his players to each give a “tad bit more.” He said his roster is balanced, and the team doesn’t need someone to play hero.
Haile said he hadn’t yet thought of what he’d tell his team before Thursday’s game but suspects it shouldn’t be hard to motivate them. For one, they’ll be playing at Rupp, the most hallowed basketball court in the state.
But also, many of the young team—there’s not a senior listed on the roster—didn’t get a chance to show what they could do at the Sweet Sixteen last year, and he expects they’ll be ready to go on Thursday.
“It’s special for this team,” Haile said.
Haile, on his two coach of the year honors, said “it was a little surprising to me” because it’s his first year as a head coach in the second region. He was at Daviess County High School the two years previous.
Haile was selected as both the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches Region 2 Girls Coach of the Year and 2nd Region Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Haile took over from his father, Jeff, who coached the Lady Cols for 37 years, retiring last year after a hall of fame career.
The younger Haile said his awards are more of a testament to his staff, and to the team for buying into what coaches were teaching them. His players learned from mistakes, especially early in the season, and continued to improve their communication.
It’s a “good team that got better as the season progressed,” Haile said.
