STATE EXTRA: Youthful Lee defies odds

RICHMOND
They were underestimated. They were overlooked, until they took the court this season.

“People said that we were only freshmen, and that we couldn’t do it,” Angela Mickens said. “We showed that we could.”

Boasting five freshmen,  Robert E. Lee girl’s basketball team will be packing up its gym bags and taking the bus to the Group AA, Division 3 finals Saturday. Age didn’t matter, it was the teams’ skill, speed and agility that propelled it to the Siegel Center in Richmond.

Players like freshman Angela Mickens turned heads; Daquaa Scott is just a sophomore and has already developed a reputation for her dominance inside. They are just a couple of the players that have turned heads this season. Lee does not have a senior on the team, but that didn’t stop them from believing that they could reach great heights.

“They believed in themselves,” coach Jeremy Hartman said.  “They knew they could get this far, this was them. This is just the beginning for us. I look forward to us growing together.”

Mickens, Daquaa Scott and Kendra Scott knew what its like to live in the shadows of others. After their 55-49 victory over Lord Botetourt, it was the Lee Ladies time to shine. Daquaa Scott and Mickens both have brothers that are standout basketball players at Lee.

“Yeah, now I can go home and brag to my brother,” Mickens said.

“It feels good that we made it this far,” Daquaa Scott said.

Mickens said she and the team have one more task to tackle.

“We have one more day of business to take care of on Saturday,” Mickens said.