Memphis Central, Toughest Girls Basketball Schedule in the Country

image from Hoopgurlz

Darianne Butler, SR

As Memphis Central (Memphis, Tenn.) walked into the Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) gym, home of the No. 7 team in the Powerade Fab 50, head coach Niki Bray was approached by an assistant coach. The coach wasn't from Riverdale, but from another team in the middle Tennessee region she'd rather not identify.

"Why'd y'all come all this way to get your (butts) whipped?" Bray recalled being asked.

Such is the cutthroat attitude of Tennessee basketball, especially of teams from the middle of the state towards schools in Memphis. The attitude, however, though archaic and unsportsmanlike is somehow justified because 1985 was the last time a Memphis-area program (Melrose High School) won the state's biggest (AAA) championship.

Memphis Central, ranked 46th last week, silenced the Riverdale crowd with a 26-10 second quarter that put Bray's squad up 16 on Riverdale at the half. But the shaky start in the fourth quarter, which has become all too common for the Lady Warriors, prevented a second signature win, to go with its 82-79 win over then-No. 9 and now No. 15 Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.). Memphis Central fell in overtime to Riverdale 74-72.

Memphis Central has been the target of much criticism since the holiday break. Memphis Central, at 11-8, has twice as many losses as any team in the national high-school rankings.

But the fact is nobody in the country has played as many top teams as Memphis Central.

All eight of the Lady Warriors' losses have come from teams that were -- or are now -- ranked 17th or higher in the Powerade Fab 50.

In November, the team lost to No. 4 Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.).

In December, during a 16-day road trip that sent the team to Hawaii and Arizona, the team fell to then No. 2 Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), currently No. 1 in the nation. No. 9 Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) is currently No. 2; followed by No. 17 Monarch (Louisville, Colo.), now No. 17; and No. 43 St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), up to ninth this week.

Memphis Central didn't schedule any breaks in its non-league schedule this month. The team traveled to Arkansas to play No. 23 North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.), this week's No. 16. Two weeks ago, the Lady Warriors traveled to St. Louis to play No. 6 Potter's House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.), now No. 5.

So the overtime loss to Riverdale follows a frustrating trend for the team of falling apart in the fourth quarter. But it also shows signs of progress by a team that lost by 20 to Bolingbrook and 26 to St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), because the Lady Warriors are hanging with top teams.

In all, Bray believes her team is every bit as good as every opponent it has played, except for a Bolingbrook team that she thought was too big to match up with physically.

The Lady Warriors, who have played the toughest schedule in the nation, will have traveled nearly 9,100 miles by the end of this week. The team is in its home stretch with just 170 miles remaining, including this weekend's trip to play regionally-ranked and defending state champion New Albany (New Albany, Miss.) before the district playoffs. The total distance traveled is eclipsed by just one team, No. 3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), which has logged more than 10,000 miles this season.

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