For the Rabun County Wildcats, the offseason didn’t go as planned.
One of their top players, sophomore wing Ellie Southards – primed for another big season after earning all-region honors as a freshman – tore her ACL in July while playing for her AAU team in Indianapolis. While her injury didn’t change coach DeeDee Dillard’s expectations for the Wildcats this season, it forced them to change course.
“We were having a great summer when Ellie got hurt,” said Dillard, who, since taking over ahead of the 2006-07 season, has guided the Wildcats to seven region championships and a title game appearance in 2017. “I wasn’t sure how the team would respond.”
Replacing Southards’ production has been a group effort. Senior guards Sarah Kate Roberson and Loren Stiles, juniors Trea Blalock and wing Mary Lovell – who returned to basketball this season after not playing since middle school – and underclassman Mili Watts have all helped maintain the Wildcats’ perennial success.
The Wildcats are 17-5 and ranked No. 2, one spot ahead of region rival Elbert County — a team they beat 51-47 the first time the two played Jan. 21, which knocked the then-No. 1 Blue Devils from the top spot. Their only losses have come to teams that were either ranked, from a higher classification or from out of state.
“For us, it's more about winning region and less about the state tournament, because this year's seniors were freshmen when we won region at Elbert County. It's important to return it this year."
“We have seven seniors who provide a lot of leadership, so I’m not surprised they rose to the challenge,” Dillard said. “The seniors will do whatever it takes to win, and the way the rest of the team plays around them is a reflection of that.”
Senior wing Gracie Deetz leads the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.2 points and seven boards, and sophomore guard Lucy Hood leads in assists (4.2) and averages 11 points. Senior guard Sophie Woodard averages a team-high 4.1 steals to go with 10.1 points, and senior wing Carley Haban averages 10.9 points.
Having four double-digit scorers exemplifies the Wildcats’ selflessness, and Dillard said the team has improved its ball-sharing as the season has progressed.
“They’ve done a real good job understanding we can have multiple scorers,” she said. “We’re starting to recognize the hot shooter in a particular game. And we have Gracie playing more at the post to create mismatches, and the team recognizes those mismatches. She’s a 6-foot wing, and she’s able to create space off the dribble against post players.”
Despite the growing pains of adjusting to life without Southards, Dillard said there was no turning point in the season. If anything, they learned an important lesson from last year, when they went 0-3 against Elbert County and were eliminated in the second round.
“Last year we won our first 11 games, but we didn’t finish well,” Dillard said. “This year, the team really understands that we’re not good enough yet to be where we want to at the end of the season. So, they’re working hard and they’re receptive to our film breakdowns, and they’re ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get better.”
Dillard believes the Wildcats left some wins on the table in non-region play, surrendering late leads to Murphy (N.C.), Habersham Central and Rabun Gap — they lost those games by an average of 3.3 points — but the focus now is securing the No. 1 seed from Region 8.
That means conquering Elbert County, a program that burst onto the scene last season as a sophomore-heavy squad to go 3-0 against the Wildcats. Though the Wildcats won the first meeting this season, the Blue Devils responded with a 45-41 home win Tuesday.
Despite losing to Elbert County, having an earlier win over the Blue Devils gives the Wildcats the confidence needed moving forward.
“It was important to win after going 0-3 against them last year,” Dillard said.
In all likelihood, it will be either the Wildcats or the Blue Devils winning 8-2A, with the two playing each other in the region championship. Taking the region trophy back from Elbert County is the team’s top goal, Dillard said.
“The No. 1 seed is important every year in that it guarantees you at least two home games and it alleviates travel, which is important for us and where we’re located,” she said. “For us, it’s more about winning region and less about the state tournament, because this year’s seniors were freshmen when we won region at Elbert County. It’s important to return it this year.”
As for the playoffs, the Wildcats have qualified every year since 2009, and from 2016 to 2019, they reached the quarterfinals three times and the championship once. Dillard believes this team is capable of making one of those deep runs.
“We have to be at our best because there’s really talented teams out there,” she said. “Elbert County, Fannin County, (last year’s champion) Josey — and there are a lot of teams in the south that we don’t get to see, but that I know are talented. But I feel if we’re playing at our best we can compete with anyone in 2A.”
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