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Gulledge inks with Southwest By BARRY BURLESON
Editor  | Photo by Barry Burleson
New Lady Bear
(Seated)
Brionne Gulledge is joined by her parents, Donald and Lisa Gulledge. In
back, from left, are Byers coach Jason Thompson, Byers principal Sonya
Cross and Southwest coach Mark Swindle. |
Brionne
Gulledge is taking her three-point shooting and her defensive skills to
Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit. The H.W. Byers senior signed a basketball scholarship last week with the Lady Bears. “She
has a lot of basketball savvy,” said coach Jason Thompson, who has seen
Gulledge’s progress firsthand at Byers. “She knows where to position
herself on the court – offensively and defensively. I believe she will
continue to improve and contribute at the next level.” Gulledge averaged five points a game as a sophomore, seven as a junior and 13 this past season. She
scored 847 points in her career at Byers, with almost half of those
coming on three-pointers. She hit 141 threes. She also has 317 career
steals and 259 rebounds. “She can really shoot
the three,” Thompson said. “She can pull the defense out, with or
without the ball, and create opportunities for the post players.” Defensively, Gulledge filled the role at Byers of guarding the other team’s star player. “She
was one of my lockdown defenders,” he said. “She played great defense.
She could shut down the big-time players on the other teams.” Mark Swindle, who just completed his 10th season at Southwest, said he is “excited about her ability to shoot the three.” “We graduated 10 of 13 players from last year’s team, and we’re looking to regroup,” Swindle said. “Brionne
(Gulledge) comes from an outstanding program here at H.W. Byers.
They’ve had an amazing stretch the past few years, and you do that with
quality players and quality coaches.” Gulledge
was a part of back-to-back state championship teams at Byers in 2008
and 2009. This past season the Lady Lions were eliminated in the state
semi-finals. |
