She just owns it

CONWAY - The turning point was Valentine’s Day.

That’s when the Conway Lady Wampus Cats’ run started. It concluded March 13 at Summit Arena in Hot Springs with a Class 7A state championship and a Most Valuable Player award for junior guard Jordan Danberry, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s All-Arkansas Preps girls player of the year.

The Lady Wampus Cats had played with relative success leading up their Feb. 14 game against Fort Smith Northside at Buzz Bolding Arena in Conway. They were 19-5, and they were confident of earning a state playoff appearance.

Still, Northside was defending Class 7A state champion and had beaten Conway 79-60 four weeks earlier in Fort Smith.

With the reigns firmly in Danberry’s grip, Conway rolled to its third consecutive victory, defeating Northside 57-43. It would go on to win its next eight games, including its rematch against Northside in the state championship game.

“When we beat Northside here, we knew we could beat any team in the state,” Danberry said.

Conway Coach Ashley Nance said Danberry took unquestioned command of her team during that Valentine’s Day game.

“At that moment, she took ownership of this team,” Nance said. “We had been wanting that from her for a long time. At first she didn’t want to accept it, but she finally did, and when she did our girls just naturally looked to her.

“Part of it is she’s a great player, but she just has that leadership quality.”

Fort Smith Northside Coach Rickey Smith said Danberry has an innate ability to take control of games.

“She is a very, very gifted athlete, and very, very talented player,” Smith said.

Danberry’s leadership was evident, said teammate Alexis Tolefree, the All-Arkansas Preps sophomore of the year, particularly in Conway’s 74-67 victory in the state championship game.

Northside was playing in its fourth connective state final and led Conway 12-9 at the end of the first quarter.

“The beginning of the game was kind of shaky for us,” Tolefree said. “I was kind of nervous, but Jordan talked to me. She said for me to keep shooting, to keep my head up, so I just listened to her and it ended up being really good for me.”

Tolefree missed her only two field-goal attempts in the first quarter, including a layup that failed to fall, but in the second quarter she made 5 of 6 attempts - including four consecutive three-pointers - and her 14 points sparked Conway to a 30-point quarter and a 39-19 lead going into halftime.

“Jordan gets a lot of credit for the way Alexis made it through those things sophomores have to go through,” Nance said. “Sometimes when [Tolefree] would get a little frustrated, Jordan would take her under her wing and really help pick her up.

“It was really good for Lex to have her there to lean on, and she gets a lot of her points because Jordan is such a great point guard.”

“She helped me a lot,” Tolefree said. “She found me when I was open. She helped me keep my head in the games. She’s just a really good leader.”

Danberry averaged 13.0 points a game, but Nance said she was never concerned about her point guard’s scoring totals. All she wanted was a leader, and she found one on Valentine’s Day.

“Here in our program, we’ve struggled with having a leader,” Nance said. “We’ve had a lot of kids who play really hard, and they work really hard, and they kind of lead just by example.

“I’ve always said good teams are led strictly by the coach, and then great teams, they have to have a floor coach, someone who’s their peer who’s holding them accountable on the floor, in practice, in the weight room, at halftime, before the game and after the game. That’s what Jordan realized she needed to do.”

Nance said Danberry’s unselfishness was the key.

“She doesn’t want to be some great scorer,” Nance said. “She would rather make the unbelievable pass. So, when she accepted her role, the girls followed, and when that happened we were tough to beat.

“That’s why we won 11 in a row. Definitely, she’s the leader.”

Jordan Danberry glance

SCHOOL Conway CLASS Junior POSITION Guard HEIGHT 5-8 AGE 16 (born June 25, 1997) FAMILY Mother: Angela Cleveland. Father: Oland Danberry. Sisters: Asia Danberry, Trinity Danberry, Phoenyx Stone. Brothers: Shaun Danberry, Brian Clay Jr.

NOTEWORTHY Danberry averaged 12.8 points, 6.7 assists, 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. She was selected as the MVP of the Class 7A state tournament. She was named the Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year and the Arkansas Max Preps Player of the Year.