5A-7A girls basketball: East Limestone's Fletcher, Thompson honored
Apr. 12—EAST LIMESTONE — It can be tough being the new kid on the block. That was something that East Limestone's Shauna Fletcher found out for herself this past season.
After being a star at Tanner, Fletcher made the move to East Limestone for her senior year. It was a decision she said was difficult in more than one way.
"It took a lot of thought, but I knew this was where God wanted me to be," Fletcher said. "It was hard. I had been at Tanner for a long time, and now I'm coming into this new place and still trying to be a leader. I just wanted to make a difference."
Fletcher did make a difference. The UAH signee averaged 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds while helping the East Limestone girls basketball team to the Northwest Regional.
Fletcher is The Daily's 5A-7A Player of the Year. She was the Daily's 1A-4A Player of the Year last season at Tanner.
"Winning at two different schools, that's pretty cool," she said.
Fletcher said her success wouldn't have been possible without head coach Jessica Thompson, The Daily's Coach of the Year.
Fletcher and Thompson are the first girls basketball player and coach from East Limestone ever to receive The Daily's All-Area top honors.
Like Fletcher, Thompson was also relatively new to East Limestone. She is in just her second season as coach. The player and coach used their similar situations to grow together to lead the team.
"We were kind of figuring out the roots together," Fletcher said.
"I was new, she was new, it was an easy fit," Thompson added. "From day one I felt like I had known her my whole life. We're like-minded, and we both just wanted to see East Limestone have success. Coming together as a coach and a player, it made the transition seamless."
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Building for the future
Thompson is no stranger to success. She experienced it as a player at Brewer and then a coach at Grissom and Arab.
This year, Thompson led the Indians to a 21-10 record with a berth in the Northwest Regional tournament at Wallace State.
The season may have ended sooner than expected, with a close loss to eventual state champion Pleasant Grove, but there's no denying the program has been set up for the future.
"We've been to Wallace a few times in this program's history, but it's not something that the school is accustomed to seeing on a regular basis," Thompson said. "It's something to build on.
"Our youth programs are getting on board. We have a special group in the middle school. The more success we have, I can see the confidence grow in this program."
Even though she was with the program for just one season, Fletcher said she is happy to be part of building the future.
"Coach Thompson is a great coach, and I know they're going to go far in the next few years," Fletcher said. "It's special to know that me and the other seniors could be a part of helping to start that."
