Andrews, NC- Over the previous 4 seasons, the Andrews Lady Wildcats have a combined record of 6 wins and 80 losses. Last night, the 2023-2024 Lady Cats picked up their fifth win in just seven games with a program-defining victory in Graham County.

It’s been tough sledding for Andrews women’s basketball over the previous decade. Since the turn of the century, the Wildcats have not had a single season where they’ve finished above .500. According to MaxPreps, a 12-12 season in 2016 was Andrews’ best finish in girls basketball since 2006.

Until less nights 56-55 victory over Robbinsville, you’d have to look back even further than 2006 to find the last time Andrews beat their Smoky Mountain Conference rivals from Graham County.

But the past is just that, the past. The Andrews Lady Cats and 2nd year Head Coach Tim Wood are looking toward the future and building a program and a culture that will last.

When asked about last night’s victory over Robbinsville and how he has gotten the girls to buy in and change the culture, Coach Wood said it started with taking a look in the mirror and challenging himself to be a better coach.

“Last night was a monumental win, not only for this program but particularly for this group of girls. When I first came into this, the two primary challenges for myself were: ‘How do I coach at a higher level?’ And, ‘How can I build confidence in our athletes?’

Our school and community have always had some great athletes, the key is finding a way to get them interested in what you’re doing on the field or court. The luxury I have had, beginning with my group last year and certainly continuing with this year’s team, is that many of them are tired of struggling, they’re tired of losing. When you have a group with that mindset, the only thing left to do is to help them find what works and then help them build on it. My first goal in trying to get the program on track – and that is still a work in progress – was trying to find ways to get others interested. To do that I first had to get those who were with me to buy in. I’m very demanding and hard at times, but I also understand the importance of gaining the girls’ trust and respect. If I don’t earn those two, nothing else will ever work. I’m certainly not perfect at that, but it is a priority for me as much as possible. Once that’s taken care of we as a team can begin focusing on the actual details of the game.

The next step to them buying in is for the team to begin to see themselves competing in, and eventually winning games. We also wanted the girls to be rewarded for their hard work and dedication, so I have made it a point that we will find ways for the girls to have equipment that makes them feel good about themselves, & to walk a little taller. All of this, and the off-season work of the girls, began to create a culture of believing in their abilities and each other as a team. The last piece of the puzzle was the team finally breaking down that mental barrier to no longer look at games in hopes of competing, but truly believing they can win. They say that winning breeds winning, but in my mind, we (the team) are doing something much, much bigger than winning ball games. The winning is just a byproduct. And that is one thing we have preached to these young ladies from day one of last season: They are the foundation for us doing something great for this program and the girls to come after them; they are the start of something huge for this community and program and the girls that come after them. It seems to be working. They are buying in. We have 17 young ladies coming to practice to hear me scream and run them every day, and have a JV team for the first time in years. I expect that to continue with the great group we have coming up from the middle school. It’s just a blessing plain and simple.

As for what to expect the rest of the year, Wood went on to say,

“Coach Solesbee taught and led some great teams, and that we have a long way to go to meet that mark. The goal for the rest of the season is just to keep building on what we have already been doing that I spoke of before. We are, and have been a team of small goals, and that’s the way we’re gonna continue to approach it. Do our best to win the games we know we  should. Hopefully steal a few here and there where we are still the underdog, and then not worry or stress about the rest. This was a huge first step, and we missed a lot of free throws down the stretch, and were lucky to get out of Robbinsville with the win. They have a historically great program, with great athletes and a great coach. We are just going to keep on chipping away and trying to reach milestones and “firsts”. I believe we are headed in the right direction, and I’m so proud of all the hard work, effort, and the coachability of this group of young women. They are spectacular.”

The Lady Cats will have some time off over Christmas break before taking the court on December 28th vs Madison.