Banks County girls go from unranked to No. 1 in GHSA basketball

Things suddenly are sunny again in Homer.

“A lot of people were kind of writing us off,” coach Jason Gibson said. “Our kids felt like they could play, and I felt we started playing with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder.”

Gibson was the biggest change from last year. He took over for Steve Shedd, who left for a job at White County. Gibson has enjoyed a long and successful coaching career — including 12 years as head girls coach at nearby Jefferson — but had been out of coaching for six years, spending three years as athletic director at Dawson County and three as AD at Rabun County.

“When you make a change, even if you’re not changing a ton of stuff, you’re still changing something,” Gibson said. “I think it took a while for them to get used to us and for us to put all the pieces together to see what we felt like was the best fit.”

It also took a while for all the pieces to get assembled on the court. The school’s softball team advanced to the state tournament in Columbus and the cross country team didn’t finish until November. There were key basketball players on both of those teams.

Once collected, the girls took steps to ensure the chemistry was in place.

“I think our team created strong bonds within each other, on and off the court, and that made us play well together,” said Reese Murphy, who along with twin sister Ryleigh is one of four seniors on the roster. “We had team bonding nights, or we’d all go out to eat after practice, just learning each other. I think it’s helped us play better.”

Since their ugly 59-39 loss at Elbert County, the Leopards have run the table — including a 52-36 bit of vengeance against Elbert County.

The Murphy sisters both are excellent 3-point shooters — Ryleigh had five in Tuesday’s 52-33 win over Athens Academy — and are gifted all-around players.

“They’re both talented wings, and they’ve been a big portion of what we do offensively,” Gibson said. “They can both shoot it, they can both attack and they can both hit the mid-range. And they’re unselfish players.”

Credit: Stan Awtrey

Credit: Stan Awtrey

But the heartbeat of the team may be junior point guard Ansley Moore, a 5-foot-8 pest who always seems to be around the ball. Moore runs the offense, usually defends the other team’s best player and is a constant nuisance. In the Athens Academy game, Moore — who finished fourth in the state cross country meet — raced from the other end of the court to chase down a breakaway and caused the girl to miss the layup.

“She is so fiery,” Gibson said. “I love the energy she brings to our team. She is such an unselfish player. She loves to celebrate the assist.”

The other starters are 6-1 sophomore Marleigh Dale, a solid defender, and freshman Janakate Gibson, the daughter of the coach — and one of the reasons he wanted to return to the bench.

The Leopards also have ratcheted up their intensity. They got after Athens Academy early and built a 30-point lead before Gibson began to empty the bench.

“I feel like learning to play hard is one thing, but learning how to compete every night is another,” Gibson said. “The difference is how intense you can be on both ends of the court. This group has gradually learned how to do that. I’m really proud of where they are and where we came from.”

And experiencing success the past two seasons has pushed Banks to make another playoff run.

“It’s definitely motivation to get back there again,” senior Ryleigh Murphy said.

Banks County can win the Region 8 championship with a victory against Providence Christian on Friday night. Banks won the firsts by 61-48 on Jan. 14 and was the last time an opponent scored 40 points against the Leopards.