Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney
Hewitt-Trussville's Ashlyn Howard (30) shoots a jumper guarded by Prattville's U'Llyriah Lewis (14) and Prattville's Jayda Scott (2) in the second half of a girls Class 7A state semifinal game at Legacy Arena at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.
A new era has dawned with the Hewitt-Trussville High School girls basketball program.
After six years of Jordan Hunter giving opposing teams nightmares, head coach Tonya Hunter’s daughter has graduated and is now on the roster at Auburn University.
Many of the things Tonya Hunter and her coaching staff have been able to take for granted the last few years have changed. Jordan Hunter was a coach on the floor in many ways, knowing everything the Lady Huskies were trying to accomplish, with an ability to relay that to her teammates.
“We have to go back and teach details that we haven’t taught in a long time,” Tonya Hunter said. “There are some things we’ve got to take a different approach to, but we’re just trying to get better every single day.”
One of the challenges for this year’s team will be identifying and solidifying roles for each player as the season gets rolling. There are five players with previous varsity experience returning this year.
Ashlyn Howard—a recent UAB signee—Lauryn Holley, Ryleigh Martin, Olivia Burton and Kennedy Gill are back and have played in the big moments, like last year’s two-point loss to Hoover in the state championship game.
Howard is a senior forward coming off a strong summer, which included an appearance in the AHSAA North-South All-Star Game.
Martin is only a sophomore but came on strong last season and is ready to take on the role of a lead guard.
Hunter believes the Lady Huskies will have a strong offensive team, but she wants to see how her team develops on the defensive side of the floor.
Howard, Burton and Gill are the team’s seniors. Holley, Martin, transfer Kylee Thornburg and Katelyn Hall give Hewitt four sophomores that will be counted on to produce. Ariella Hayden is the team’s lone junior.
Freshman Sophie Stodghill and seventh grader Caycee Burton will contribute as well.
The Lady Huskies are in undoubtedly one of the toughest areas in the state, as Area 6 features Hoover, Vestavia Hills and Oak Mountain. Hoover has won the Class 7A state championship each of the last four years, beating Hewitt-Trussville twice and Vestavia once in that title game.
With the way the state playoffs are set up, only one team out of Area 6 would be able to advance all the way to the state final four. The six regular season area games will consume much of the Lady Huskies’ schedule in January, and they will use the first two months of the season to build toward those important games.
“January is going to be crucial,” Hunter said. “We’re calling it the playoff month.”
