Recommend This StoryPerfect pest: Millbrook's Mead excls at flustering opponents
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By Tommy Keeler Jr. - tkeeler@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER -- Imagine taking a camping trip into the wilderness. Everything is perfect, the moonlight shining through the trees, roasting marshmallows on a fire. Everything is perfect, except for the annoying gnats and mosquitoes.
The pests are everywhere, and relentless. Nothing seems to get rid of them, not the bug spray or bug zappers.
That is how many of Millbrook's opponents feel about Sara Mead. Millbrook coach Debby Sanders often likes to compare her to those pesky bugs.
"You got gnats or mosquitoes buzzing around your head and you're trying to go to sleep and you just hear that thing and you're swatting at air," Sanders said. "She's just there and she just will not go away. Other guards will tell you when she gets their number, she gets their number."
Mead is known for her defensive prowess. Sanders will often match her up with the opponent's best player and Mead usually comes through.
The sophomore takes pride in her defense and loves the challenge of going up against the best players.
"When you take that ball away, you just get that sense of pride in that," Mead said. "When [Sanders] tells me I'm guarding somebody -- their best player, then I get excited. I know that the whole team's behind me. I just do what I always do. I try to force them to one side or their weak side and try to catch them off guard."
At 5-foot-7, Mead is usually smaller than the players she's guarding. Even when her opponent is more athletic than she is, it doesn't stop Mead from doing her job.
Mead tries to stay low and is constantly watch her opponent for weaknesses. In Millbrook's win over Fluvanna last Saturday in the Region II final, Mead guarded the Flucos' top player Mia Loyd.
Loyd managed to get her share of points (21), but she was held scoreless in the first quarter and had only two in the fourth quarter.
"I think Sara was getting to her a little bit," Sanders said. "She's just gritty. She just gets down in the trenches and fights. She goes to war every time we step on the floor. Nothing rattles her. She stays composed in whatever we're doing. She never loses focus."
Mead has worked a lot to make her defense as strong as it is, but it hasn't hurt that she practices against one of the best players in the state -- her teammate Courtni Green. The two have been playing together for more than four years, including the same Amateur Athletic Union teams, and know each other's games very well.
Both players admitted it gets a little competitive between the two when they go at it, but they also push each other to make one another better.
"She's not scared of anybody -- that's her biggest thing," Green said. "She wants to go up against the best and play against the best. And I think that's what sets her aside from everybody else."
Mead and Green started playing together in middle school and then played on the same AAU travel team -- the Winchester Rising Stars. Three years ago, the team won the AAU Division 2 national championship.
Mead and Green were backcourt teammates then just like they are now, and they were the leaders of the team.
"It's incredible to win a national championship," Mead said. "Not many teams get to do that. When you step out on the court and get that experience, you really grow from it."
Mead and Green then came to Millbrook last year, and as freshmen they both made an impact.
Mead became the starting point guard and helped guide the Pioneers to a 25-3 record. The Pioneers advanced to the Group AA, Division 3 state semifinals where they lost to eventual champion Freedom.
In the offseason, Mead and Green began playing with the Fairfax Stars AAU squad. The team is an elite program, which has had many top-notch alumni, including current Duke point guard Jasmine Thomas.
Mead said it was a real challenge for her to even make the team and she had to get used to being a bench player for the Fairfax Stars.
"It was definitely a different experience," Mead said. "I started as point guard for the Rising Stars, and then I went and I was like the No. 6 or 7 person for the Fairfax Stars. I had to work really hard in practice to get my spot on the team. It's a lot different not being the top person on the team. You learn from the better ones. I thought it was good experience for me."
While Mead is known for her defense, her offensive game has improved this season. Mead has worked on her shooting and taking more shots during the game. She is currently averaging 12.4 points per game, second on the team.
"She's just as capable as anybody to hit shots," Sanders said. "She's really starting to take that under her wing. Before she was so busy distributing the ball and running our offense, and now she's taking her opportunities when she gets them and that just makes us that much better."
Of all her valuable traits, Sanders said Mead's biggest role on the team is being the point guard.
With the Pioneers, Mead has a lot of options but she's learned how to keep the team under control and lead them to success.
"I don't think I could ever choose a better point guard than her," Green said. "She knows who to get the ball to. She knows how to handle the pressure, and if there's ever pressure she knows that she can count on me in the backcourt with her."
Millbrook will play in the Group AA, Division 3 state quarterfinals on Saturday at James Madison University against Warhill.
The Pioneers are undefeated and have been ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Group AA poll most of the season.
Whether or not they are able to win the state title, Mead feels good about this young team, which includes seven sophomores and two freshmen.
"I think it's good that we're all young and we still have two more years together," Mead said. "Since we're all sophomores, I think by the time we're seniors we're going to be really great. I think it will help us in the years to come. We're all learning what we need to do."
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