First-year head coach Shari Helvey is quick to acknowledge that her immediate success leading the James Monroe girls basketball program comes from having a roster that was equipped to become a significant factor atop Class AA. While ebbs and flows in talent can happen year-to-year especially at smaller schools, the Mavericks have posted a number of quality victories in their 12-0 start, making them one of two undefeated girls basketball teams in West Virginia.
“Everybody who is in high school sports knows the tides of talent, they all come and go,” Helvey said. “You may have a couple down years and you may have a group of talent coming through. I was just lucky at the right time to get back into coaching. It happened to be a good, talented time in Monroe County.
“I started back at one of our feeder schools, Peterstown Middle School a couple of years ago. That really just kind of opened up all of my creative juices again. I just wanted to get back into everything. I felt like I could come up and help with this group of girls. When Angie (Mann) decided to step away, I just felt like I was the next person to come up and take the task of having these awesome kids.”
Some of the best tests for James Monroe were scheduled in the very early stages of the season. After playing a scrimmage against George Washington, the Mavericks defeated Class AAAA opponents Huntington and Hurricane in a season-opening tournament at Cabell Midland High School.
“That first weekend, you don’t really have film of teams. So you are kind of going in a little bit blind. So I was a little bit worried in that first Huntington game because you just don’t know with teams that haven’t played yet. How are we going to be able to understand the personnel and things like that? But the girls really watched film with me. They really honed in on some of the personnel that we were pulling together from other places.”
James Monroe has advanced to the state semifinals in back-to-back seasons. Despite losing six seniors and their second-leading scorer Maggie Boroski to graduation, the Mavericks have quickly responded behind returning veterans Mya Dunlap, Kendall Long and Rileigh Jackson.
“Mya has played and started since she was a freshman. She probably has more varsity minutes than any senior in the State of West Virginia. She is obviously a seasoned, varsity player. We also have Rileigh Jackson, who is a junior and has been on a varsity team since her freshman year. She comes off the bench and can be at pretty much any spot on the floor.”
Post player Lydia Dunlap has made an immediate impact in her freshman season. She leads the Mavericks in scoring (18.3), rebounding (8.1) and steals (5.9).
“She would have made a difference if you could put seventh or eighth graders on a high school team, just by her size and her length and her athleticism. Lydia is coming into her own. She is developing every single day and she is just a great ballplayer and teammate to have on the floor. I always tell the girls that if you give up penetration, it is a beautiful thing to have Lydia right there to be able to stop it too. She is just a smart kid and she tries every single possession. She is one of those diamonds in the rough that you are just glad she is on my team.”
In her playing days, Helvey, then Shari Walker, led the Mavericks to a pair of state championships in 2001 and 2002. After playing one season at Glenville State, she transferred to Concord University and scored 1,136 points in three seasons. Helvey stands second in the Concord record books with 235 made three-point field goals.
“We still go back and play some alumni games and I just cannot figure it out yet. I am short on everything. I tell my teammates that I am just going to go shoot layups or something.
“One of the funny jokes when people ask me is that, yeah, I am second in threes made but I am number one in three-pointers attempted.”