Remini Nickey and Hannah McDougle were two instrumental players who helped Newton County’s girls basketball team reach the Big House in Jackson.
Those two players will now be heading on to play college basketball next season. McDougle signed with East Mississippi while Nickey signed with Pearl River.
Newton County girls basketball coach Cory Cleveland said his signees earned their opportunity to play college basketball, and they were also instrumental in Newton County taking that last step.
“When the going got tough, they dug down deep, and they were bound and determined that they weren't going to let anything deter them from reaching that next step,” Cleveland said. “For the last several years, they'd been wanting to get into the big house, and they were bound and determined that they were going to get there because this was their last year, and they weren't gonna let anything stop them from doing that. That was their chief goal.”
McDougle said it meant a lot to her to get the opportunity to play at state.
“It means a lot. It's my senior year and the beginning of the season I coach asked us what did we want to do? Like what goals that we have for the season. And we all said the big house, and we eventually went to the big house,” McDougle said.
Nickey said what turned the corner for the team was learning how to play with each other.
“It was not going good or not very well, but we started telling ourselves that we wanted to be better than what we are right now. And we started coming together, practicing stronger and disciplined, and we became better, stronger together. And we just worked hard,” Nickey said.
McDougle said EMCC felt like home to her.
“I love the coaching staff. I loved the surrounding. I love how I went there and homecoming and everybody was out showing support and I love the teammates. They all bonded with me when I came,” McDougle said.
Nickey also felt like Pearl River was the right place for her to be.
“I'm very excited to become a Wildcat. The campus is so beautiful. It was not too big. Not too small. It was just right. It was, it was very beautiful,” Nickey said.
Nickey and McDougle have been playing together for a long time. They’ve been travel ball teammates and high school teammates. But now, they are going to be MACCC competitors against each other.
“Well, it was awesome because we knew how to play with each other. We played travel ball high school ball for a long time, and we played with each other for awhile, and now we're going against each other. It's, it's, it's kind of amazing, but I'm going to miss Hannah being on my team cause we always knew each other and we knew how to play,” Nickey said.
