The best girls' basketball squad on the First Coast no one is talking about?
The Brunswick Lady Pirates.
Maria Mangram's squad is out to an 18-0 start, and, with two more games later this week, they could improve to 20-0 by Saturday. Only one other team in Mangram's 13 years at the helm of the Pirates has reached the mark: the 2015 squad that began the year 28-0, but was eliminated in the third-round of the postseason. The Lady Pirates would follow with a Final Four finish the following season.
While Mangram doesn't like to compare each of her 12 previous squads, she admits: this is as deep a squad as she's ever had, with 10-11 players seeing playing time.
"This team is just one of those teams where, every now and again, that team comes along and, as a coach, you say to yourself: 'this is the one,'" Mangram said after a recent practice.
A veteran group that starts two seniors and three juniors, the Lady Pirates understand and have embraced the target on their back. The sheer depth of talent on their roster allows for such confidence.
"We are interchangeable. We can substitute players in-and-out; we don't have to stick to a certain line-up. It can be a different five every time," senior captain Shakardia "Cardi" Cowart added.
Brunswick travels to Bradwell Institute Friday before hosting Lowndes on Senior Night Saturday.