Lady Mustangs unbeaten going into holiday’s Rumble on Ridge
Four games into the new season, the Forrest City Lady Mustangs are unbeaten at 4-0 following a recent 65-46 win over the Earle Lady Bulldogs.
It is the first 4-0 start for a Lady Mustangs team since the mid 1990s according to available records. The 2006-07 Lady Mustangs started that season 4-1 under then head coach Jacky England.
The Lady Mustangs have defeated Rivercrest, Rector, Marianna and now Earle to get off to this season's quick start. "They (Earle) have some ball players," Forrest City Lady Mustangs head coach Caronica Randle Williams said after the game.
Once again this season, senior Charnell Hoof, is leading the way for the Lady Mustangs. In the win over Earle Hoof tossed in 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and handed out seven assists.
Junior Josilynne Scott tosseed in 13 points, 10 of that in the opening half, had three steals and handed out two assists, while junior Ayana Watson helped on the boards with three rebounds and also had three assists. A pair of sophomores Kylei Bailey and Avienne Applewhite each finished with eight points. Wynne sophomore transfer Jaztin Rodgers has been a welcome addition to the Lady Mustangs lineup this season as well.
"The Lady Mustangs will next compete in the Memphis-based MLK tournament set to be played Tuesday and Wednesday, prior to playing a pair of games at the Rumble on the Ridge, Nov. 24-25 at Dwight Lofton Mustang Arena.
"It feels really great," Williams added. "I really did not see a 4-0 start when we first opened the season. I knew our schedule was going to be hard because the girls kept talking about a championship year and that's why we put this schedule together and brought the teams in for the two Rumble games which we hope will prepare us for the future. I'm very excited. Every day during the summer these girls have been dedicated to getting better and working toward that. And trust me it has been the entire team. When they began asking me about getting into the gym in June, I knew how much dedication to the upcoming season they had."
Before the Lady Mustangs
open play at the first ever Rumble on the Ridge girls championship tournament, the team will participate in the MLK tournament that began play Tuesday in Memphis.
At the Rumble, on the same floor where Williams played as a Lady Mustang and the same floor as the team's head coach, the Lady Mustangs will open against Olive Branch, Miss., a team they played in a summer camp.
"The Olive Branch girls are very, very tough and I mean tough," Williams added. "They beat us at team camp so that is another reason we wanted to bring them to and play them in the Rumble."
Randle, a Forrest City native, played three seasons for the Lady Mustangs under then head coach Sue Jayroe, graduating in 2003 as an All-Conference, All-State, AllAcademic, All Arkansas Selection and Future Stars Team selection by KATV Channel 7/Arkansas Prep Hoops and an Arkansas All-Star Basketball selection.
Williams earned a full basketball scholarship with the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), and helped lead UCA to 20 victories per season, highlighted by Gulf South Conference (GSC) regular season and tournament championships, two NCAA Division II regional appearances, a school record 28 wins and NCAA Division II national semifinal in 2004-05, and a second-place finish in the Southland Conference East Division in UCA's first season in Division I. She was twice named D-2 All America Honorable Mention, two time All Gulf South Conference player and is a member of the Gulf South
Conference All Decade Team.
She ended her UCA career in 2007 as the team's No. 3 career scorer with more than 2,000 points and as the all-time leader in free throws attempted and made. At UCA, she averaged more than 17 points per game, grabbed an average of 6 rebounds a game and shot 33 percent from the three-point line.
She returned to her alma mater after assistant coaching stops at Marshall University, Furman and most recently Arkansas State University joining the ASU coaching staff after spending three seasons at Furman as associate head coach, helping the Paladins appear in postseason play in both seasons, including a WNIT appearance.
Randle joined the Furman program following four years as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator at Marshall and was pivotal in the Thundering Herd's resurgence that produced the program's first-ever Division I postseason win, a Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) triumph over Northern Kentucky in 2014-15, and Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) appearance. Marshall's 21-win campaign in 2015-16 marked its highest victory tally in three decades.
In 2013, Williams was inducted into the Forrest City Athletic Hall of Fame and at Forrest City will join Forrest City Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Mustang basketball coach Dwight Lofton.
Whether it’s on the court or in the classroom, Williams has done nothing but succeed since graduating from Forrest City.
Williams returned to her hometown and stepped into the head coaching role with the Lady Mustangs, replacing Erica Taylor Leak, now the West Memphis girls head coach.
Williams and her husband Darius, who coaches basketball at Marianna Lee said the opportunity to come back to Forrest City and coach "could not be more perfect. This decision was not just about me anymore, so after 30-plus years of living just for me, I knew this decision had to be for my family."
Williams said she is excited to continue to improve upon what Coach Leak has built over the past five seasons. Williams said, "I hope to try to continue and grow the program. That's my plan, just build and get better. Seeing something go from nothing to something is better than not seeing anything at all."
Taking over the Lady Mustangs team, Williams has been instrumental in beginning the Community Night event which has been held the Wednesday night prior to the Rumble on the Ridge.
She also had a hand in bringing the girls teams to the Rumble for their own Rumble version, an idea that has been on her mind and in the works for the past two or three years.
The 2003 Rumble tournament did host a one-time exhibition girls game against visiting Pulaski Academy, when Williams was still a Lady Mustang player. The Lady Bruins won that exhibition game.
Williams' next step, as the former small-town girl, is to help guide her Lady Mustangs team to a state title.