Three Factors Behind Southeast Raleigh’s stellar 2019-2020 season

<em>Story and photos by Brandon White</em> The COVID-19 pandemic impacting the United States forced the North Carolina High School Athletic Association to cancel the eight basketball championships scheduled for March 14 and declare all 16 remaining teams co-champions in their respective division. The Southeast Raleigh girls basketball team will share the NCHSAA 4A title with Zebulon B. Vance, which marks the first time the program has won a state title since they defeated McDowell at the Dean Smith Center in 1999. Southeast Raleigh had previously established themselves has one of the most consistent teams in the NCHSAA 4A division, but three crucial factors contributed to their deep playoff run that ultimately resulted in a state championship <ol> <li><strong>Head coach Nicole Meyers</strong></li> </ol> Southeast Raleigh has experienced nothing but success during Meyers’ tenure leading the team, as they have clinched a berth inside the NCHSAA 4A Championship game in six of the last seven years. Despite Meyers’ consistency, Southeast Raleigh lost all five of their prior matchups, but the team remained committed to Meyers’ tutelage during each tribulation and kept earning more opportunities to secure their first state title since 1999. Meyers’ guidance and tutelage were crucial in assembling Southeast Raleigh’s potent starting five in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116897" first="Bobbi" last="Smith"], Skylar Quillet, Morgan Graham, [player_tooltip player_id="116849" first="Jamia" last="Hazell"] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116847" first="Anya" last="Poole"]</strong>, all of which led the team to an impressive 27-1 record to close out the year. <ol start="2"> <li><strong>Senior Leadership</strong></li> </ol> Experience plays a major role in determining which teams advance to the NCHSAA Championships, which Southeast Raleigh relied on in the form of a capable senior duo in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116849" first="Jamia" last="Hazell"] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116847" first="Anya" last="Poole"].</strong> Hazell and Poole are a part of an exclusive group of high school basketball players that had a chance to compete for a state title during all four years of eligibility, but both of them left each of their three previous games dejected after coming up short against Northwest Guilford in 2017 and 2018 and West Forsyth in 2019. &nbsp; With Southeast Raleigh being held to less than 40 points in those contests, Hazell and Poole were able to learn from their mistakes and gradually refined their skills on the court to become dynamic threats on both offense and defense. <ol start="3"> <li><strong>A great group of underclassmen</strong></li> </ol> Although Poole and Hazell have formally concluded their remarkable careers in a Southeast Raleigh uniform, the program will still have plenty of great players to rely on during the 2020-21 season. Junior <strong>Morgan Graham </strong>was a major presence underneath the rim for Southeast Raleigh in what proved to be their final game of the season against Millbrook, as she constantly created scoring opportunities for her teammates by grabbing seven rebounds. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="116897" first="Bobbi" last="Smith"] </strong>prevented Millbrook from generating any offense during that game by registering two blocks and a steal to along with her five points and five rebounds, while junior <strong>Skylar Quillet</strong> scored seven points and grabbed three rebounds against Millbrook. With Graham, Smith and Quillet all set to return alongside quality depth players like juniors <strong>Mikayla Harris </strong>and <strong>Tamsi Echendu, </strong>Southeast Raleigh is expected to be a favorite for the NCHSAA 4A Championship once again when the 2020-21 season gets underway.