By CHRIS HOBBS
HobbsDailyReport.com
St. Stephens girls’ basketball head coach Betsy Reynolds has resigned after guiding the Indians to a 52-52 record over the previous four seasons.
HICKORY – Betsy Reynolds, who helped St. Stephens High’s girls get back on track in basketball with back-to-back winning seasons, has resigned.
On Friday, St. Stephens athletic director Jim Woodruff confirmed Reynolds has stepped down and won’t guide the Indians next season when they start play in a revamped Northwestern 3A-4A.
Woodruff said via email that the position is currently open.
In replacing Reynolds, the Indians will make only their sixth hire for that spot in 34 years (see previous coaches below).
St. Stephens had a 52-52 record in four seasons under Reynolds, whose previous coaching tenures include five years at Wilson Hall (S.C.), six years at Hammonds School in Columbia (S.C.) and a year as head coach at White Knoll (S.C.).
She came to St. Stephens in 2011 and coached the girls’ basketball junior varsity team.
When she began coaching the St. Stephens varsity girls in 2013-14, the Indians had an 8-63 record the previous three seasons.
St. Stephens went 14-12 last season — a year after posting a 17-11 record — and those were the first back-to-back winning season for the Indians since 2006-07 and 2007-08 under Todd Davis.
Reynolds was named the Northwestern 3A-4A Coach of the Year in girls’ basketball in 2015-16 when the Indians tied for third place in the league.
The Indians went to the postseason three times in Reynolds’ tenure, missing only her second year when they finished 9-15, but did not win a postseason game under Reynolds.
The Indians, who enjoyed success in the late 1970s with Steve Hilton as head coach, have had 12 winning seasons, 20 losing seasons and one season at .500 in the previous 33 seasons. They won 22 games in 1980-81 and in 2006-07 under Davis.
St. Stephens’ best season playoff-wise was in 1987-88 under Deanna (Huffman) Taylor, when it finished third in the Big Six 3A and then got on a run to gain the school’s only West Regional girls’ basketball appearance. The Indians were 14-14 when East Henderson eliminated them in the first round of the West 3A Regionals.
ST. STEPHENS GIRLS’ BASKETBALL HEAD COACHES
(Since 1984-85)
Coach First year Record
Sally Bradshaw 1984-85 21-54, 3 seasons
Deanna Huffman 1987-88 24-30, 2 seasons
Lu Hauser 1989-90 120-170, 12 seasons
Todd Davis 2001-02 165-146, 12 seasons
Betsy Reynolds 2013-14 52-52, 4 seasons
Totals 382-452
Notes: Sixty-two of Davis’ losses came in his last three seasons; he guided his first nine teams to the state playoffs… The Indians’ best conference finishes in the last 33 years have been second place (six times).
SOURCE: HobbsDailyReport.com files