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Alainey Hughes

Hughes named new head coach of Lady Indians

Alainey Hughes was looking for a basketball head coaching job and saw an opening at Byhalia High School.

"Honestly, I didn't know where Byhalia was," she said.

She looked it up and went for an interview prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Schools across the state remained closed after spring break, so it was a few weeks before she found out that she got the job as the new coach of the Lady Indians.

"I loved the school when I visited," she said. "It really had that homey feel to it."

Hughes, 24, has spent the last two seasons at Crystal Springs High School in south Mississippi, the first year as a varsity boys assistant coach and the second year as a varsity girls assistant. This past season the Lady Tigers won the district and advanced all the way to the Class 3A final four.

In 2017-2018, she was the junior high girls coach at Amite County.

She grew up in McComb but graduated from Hamilton High School, located between Aberdeen and Columbus, in 2013.

Hughes attended Itawamba Community College for a year and a half. She graduated from Mississippi State University in December 2016 with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and then received her master's from MSU in December 2018. "It's good to get back to north Mississippi," she said. "I love north Mississippi."

The 3A Lady Indians finished 10-13 this past season. However, they've had plenty of recent success, advancing all the way to the Class 4A state championship game in 2018.

In surveying the roster for next season, Hughes said she knows the team will be young.

"That's a good thing," she said. "They're young, and I'm young. We can grow together.

"I see it as a chance to build something."

The first-year head coach said she will emphasize defense.

"Defense can keep you in any basketball game," Hughes said. "Even when the offense is struggling, you can play defense, create turnovers and get some baskets. If you play defense, the baskets will come eventually."

She said she wants the teams that play Byhalia to remember they played the Lady Indians.

"I want them to be so tired at the end of the game and say `hey, we just played Byhalia' ­win or lose," Hughes said. She said she enjoyed getting to know athletic director John Danley and principal James Kimbrough during the interview process. She looks forward to working with both.

"Coach Danley told me he remembered being young and someone gave him a chance, and he saw that in me," Hughes said. "I really appreciate him taking a chance on me. I'm thankful and excited and ready to give it all I can."

The Mississippi High School Activities Association has OK'd summer athletic workouts to begin in June. She said she looks forward to meeting members of her new team and getting busy on building the program.

Holly Springs South Reporter

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