Lady Tigers senior guard Davoney Dellinger reinvigorates joy in career-best prep basketball run
NEWTON, N.C — Adversity comes in many forms and can extend to different facets of one’s life including the sports world.
Being a student-athlete is not always easy. There will often be obstacles in one’s way, whether personal or professional in nature.
The confidence and desire to overcome those challenges also sits in a gray area. Nevertheless, setbacks with any driving force can sometimes make an individual stronger.
Fred T. Foard High School senior Davoney Dellinger has had her fair share of impediments during her career on the varsity girls basketball team.
During the 2023-24 season, Dellinger has shown she has the resolve to rise above any vitriol she may have been shown considering she is having her career-best year on the hardwood.
Dellinger, who has also competed in softball while attending Foard, began her tenure with the Lady Tigers varsity basketball program as a freshman in 2020-21.
It was then that she showed she had the potential to be a special player for the program as she had her moments playing alongside all-conference talent like Alexis Wolgemuth, Samaria Tipps and Carley West.
The Lady Tigers finished at 7-4 overall and 7-4 in Northwestern Foothills 2A Conference action during the shortened season. The conference placement was just behind leader Bunker Hill.
Dellinger averaged 9.8 points and one steal per contest as the team’s fourth-leading scorer.
Unfortunately, she took a dip in her sophomore campaign, scoring 7.7 points per game, but was still the third-leading scorer on the squad. She also corralled 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per outing.
Foard finished at 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the newlyformed Western Foothills 3A Conference (good for a fourth-place finish).
Nevertheless, her ability to play sports following her sophomore season was almost at a loss. From the time she was in 6th grade, Dellinger has dealt with a rare eye condition called optic nerve drusen (ONHD) which can obscure one’s vision due to refractive, crystallized nodules built up within the optic nerve.
This led to the end of her varsity softball career at Foard after only two seasons because the condition ultimately made it hard for Dellinger to see the ball when hitting.
“I learned to compensate when shooting with it and I’m so blessed that it didn’t ruin basketball for me too,” she said.
Dellinger has not let that deterrent stand in her way as she fought to continue playing the game she has loved since she was able to walk.
She began competing in the sport at only 5-years-old and grew to love it while watching games with her dad on TV. She said they would cut up and get into them and have the best time together.
“My mom has always been the stat guru and keeps me wanting to be the best I can be and reminds me all the time to play as if it’s my last game always,” she said. “Coach Shanon Hemphill would have to be one of my biggest inspirations as she coached me since I was five years old and is still supporting and pushing me to this day and never ever misses my games.”
In her junior season, Dellinger averaged just above six points per game, while also adding in 3.4 rebounds per contest and extending her defensive prowess with a then career-best 2.3 steals per game (which was second on the Lady Tigers).
However, Foard suffered its first losing season with Dellinger on the roster as it went 11-15 overall and 5-9 in WFAC play.
It was not until her senior campaign this season where Dellinger was really given the opportunity to truly shine as a scorer and as a leader.
“I love the competitiveness and chance to play as a team,” she said. “This year, I’ve had a lot of opportunities for fast breaks and I had no idea how much I loved that as I’ve most always been an outside shooter, but [I] have the confidence now to drive to the basket and it’s a rush.
“Attacking [with] the ball was not much pushed for me the past few years and I’m loving that aspect of getting to show what I’m truly made of as I’ve always played with all I had because I loved the game so much; if I wasn’t playing the best I could play, I was letting at least four other girls down while on the court together. This year, while it looks like I’m having a great offensive year as everyone loves to score, I get so pumped when I get a steal and can make that assist pass to a teammate and celebrate if the basket falls for them and they even draw a foul and make the and-one, too.”
Despite almost quitting the game she loves following her junior campaign, Dellinger credits 1st-year head coach Jovan Hoover for reinvigorating her joy to compete and giving it a go for one final ride.
“I don’t even know where to start with Coach Hoover,” she said. “I can honestly say that if it weren’t for him I would not even be playing basketball this year. He is the most inspiring and uplifting coach I’ve ever had the honor to play for, and I’ve played for some great coaches in my career. I played travel ball for a brief time for him, but when I decided that I wasn’t going to try and compete at the college level I left travel ball to work and make money instead.
“I’ve learned that no matter what the circumstance is [while] playing for Coach Hoover; that if you make a mistake, regroup and don’t make the same mistake again and when he gets on to me, it’s only for my best interest because he will be uplifting and cheering me on the very next play and he never ever makes me feel defeated. He’s got a heart for the game and the athletes he’s coaching like no other. Even when I was playing against him, he always encouraged me and took the time for me and has helped make me who I am today.”
Hoover said that Dellinger has really stepped up as a senior and has competed at a high level.
“Not only has she been one of our leading scorers but she has also defensively had to guard some of the best players from other teams in conference play so far which has helped us be successful,” said Hoover. “As a coach, I had previously had the opportunity to coach her in travel basketball so she was familiar with my coaching style which I think has also has helped her be successful this season.
“She is a great kid to coach; And, [she] has been a wonderful role model to our younger ladies in the program which is something that she has excelled at this year to go along with her improved scoring abilities and defense.”
A couple of the younger players on the squad this season include freshman guard Preslee Dula, along with freshman forward Jessica Bailey.
She even has some familiar faces competing alongside her during her senior run including junior guard/ forward Kinzer Abernethy, junior guard Gabby Sutcliffe, senior guard Sarah Katy and senior center Imani Ikard.
The veteran presence of Abernethy and Ikard has been a helping hand in 202324. Abernethy is averaging 8.9 points and 2.6 steals per game while Ikard is putting up 7.2 points and a team-best 9.9 rebounds per game. Ikard has also corralled 1.6 steals and a block per contest.
Sutcliffe leads the team in 3-point percentage at 60 percent, although it has been a small sample size. Dellinger has followed behind by shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc.
Katy, too, has been a stalwart on the defensive end, averaging 1.5 steals per game.
The newcomer Bailey has been an important component to the machine as she is averaging 8.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 steals per outing. Dula has also put in work in the passing lanes as a rookie with 1.6 steals per game, as well as leads Foard with 2.4 assists per outing.
“While I love each and every one of the underclassmen, I’ve got a very close connection to Preslee Dula and Jessica Bailey,” said Dellinger. “They are both outstanding basketball players and they’re freshmen and have played so great and fit right in, and it breaks my heart I’m only getting to play with them for one year. Then there’s my [girl] Kinzer Abernathy; that’s a junior and we’ve played together for four years counting middle school, and I can’t even hardly talk about the season ending with her without bursting into tears.
“Getting to be a senior leader is a great honor to me as I’ve never looked down on the underclassmen at all and in fact I want to make them feel so loved and welcomed so that they don’t ever feel uncomfortable. They have been a great asset to our team this year and I’m so proud of them all. As for my coaches, they don’t get any better than Coach Hoover, Coach Kay and Coach Jen that never gave up on me when things weren’t always on the up and up for me.
“[As for goals] with the success we’re having this year, there would [be] nothing [to] tickle me more than to win a conference championship before leaving Fred T. Foard. All-Conference is something I always dreamed about and would love that on a personal level and going far in the playoffs and a State Championship would be a dream come true.”
Dellinger and her fellow seniors which include Ikard, Katy and forward Alyssa James were recognized prior to the conference clash with leader East Lincoln on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
In a losing effort against the Lady Mustangs, 69-39, Dellinger obtained 12 points to lead her squad, in addition to three steals.
Through games played on Feb. 6, Dellinger is averaging a career-high 14.4 points per game while also earning a career mark in steals per contest with 3.1.
She also tallied a careerbest 25 points this season in a 63-36 victory over West Lincoln on Dec. 13, 2023. Her previous career-high was 24 which she collected during her freshman season. She has scored 20 or more four times during her senior campaign.
As presently constructed, Foard has an overall mark of 15-6 and 7-4 WFAC record which is currently tied for second-place with North Iredell in the standings.
With the regular-season coming to a close on Feb. 16, Dellinger has thought about what will be next following her high school career.
“I had not planned on playing basketball at a collegiate level, but the closer it gets to the season ending and me not wanting it to end. I’m not opposed to the opportunity at all,” she said. “I’ve been invited to different colleges for basketball, but I’ve got my heart pretty set on Lenoir-Rhyne University to eventually earn my Masters in Athletic Training there, but I will definitely play club ball if nothing else because on the basketball court is where I think of nothing at all other than the game that I love so very much and being with my girls.”