By Grant Miller

As the buzzer sounded in the I.C. Norcom High School’s gym Friday night, Maury’s Lady Commodores walked away with yet another victory. This game against Norcom (39-34) was similar to the others, a low-scoring contest dominated by their dogged defense and unselfish offense.

That’s how winning is done at Maury, and it is time people in this region took notice.

The Lady Commodores have improved drastically from last season, but there doesn’t seem to be much fanfare surrounding their success, making them the best kept secret in Norfolk.

According to Head Coach Julius Owens, the Lady Commodores put in a lot of work in the offseason with “conditioning and training” that has paid off, resulting in a team that has “more focus.”

And while he mentioned coverage from The Commodore Chronicle and She Scored Sports as an improvement, Owens is unsatisfied with their media attention.

“It’s getting better but could still be better because of where we started and where we are in our program,” Owens said.

Let’s not sugarcoat things. During the 2022-2023 season, Maury’s girls basketball team was awful. With a 2-11 record, they finished sixth in the Eastern region according to Max Preps.

By the 2023-2024 season, they improved to 12-11, making them fifth in the region. They were better, but they weren’t great.

Now let’s give credit where it is due. This season the Lady Commodores have exploded to 16-4 and second in the region, though at one point they were the top team. Manor took the top ranking by beating Maury twice, but they were tough contests with single-digit margins.

According to Max Preps, senior Myla Parker is the team’s leading scorer this season, averaging 12.2 points per game, but if you look up the team’s numbers, there isn’t a single person on the roster who doesn’t put points on the board. Everybody chips in on offense, and not every team can say that.

However, defense is where the Lady Commodores truly shine. So far, teams have only averaged only 32.6 points against them. Out of their 16 victories, only four times did their opponents score over 40 points.  Lockdown defense is their bread and butter, and anyone who has watched ball hawks like senior Camori Veal, junior Sarajane Walker, and freshman Zoe Redel operate on the perimeter is not surprised by that claim.

The Lady Commodores have one more game this season at home against Lake Taylor, who they have already defeated in their gym 35-28. If Maury wins on Tuesday, Feb. 18, they will improve to 17-4. If they lose, they will be 16-5. Regardless of how the game goes, the Lady Commodores deserve credit for building a competitive team.

The best kept secret is out.