‘She believed in us before we believed in ourself’: How Leeanna McKinney turned around Trousdale County’s girls basketball team
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Leeanna McKinney accepted the girls head coaching job at Trousdale County in May of 2022.
She took on a program looking for some sort of spark. The Lady Yellow Jackets were coming off of an 8-17 season and their 11th season in a row with a losing record.
In year one they improved to 13-18. Year two saw another losing season but one more win finishing the year 14-17.
Now in her third year at the helm, McKinney has Trousdale off to its best start in well over a decade. Following a 48-38 win over Watertown Friday night, the Lady Yellow Jackets are just a few wins off of their mark for their best season in over a decade.
“When I came here, they had won just a few games the year before and had no confidence,” McKinney said. “You have to let the players know that they’re good and that just needed the fundamentals and to get back at it. They’ve worked for me since day one.
…I tell them all the time that you can’t go buy a jump shot at Walmart. Every year we’ve gotten better and tried to close the gap. They’ve really bought in and that’s how we’re going to keep it going.”
Trousdale County (12-4) has now won five of its last six games. The win over Watertown (12-3) in particular was a sweet one in that stretch.
They played each other on December 13 in a game that the Lady Purple Tigers won by seven. It also marked the first time that Trousdale County had beaten Watertown since 2017.
“I knew that we could do it as soon as we stepped on the court this season,” Janae Aponte said. “I believed in us. We came up a bit short last time but I knew we’d get it done the second time we played them.”
Trousdale’s transition from a team that others could beat up on to one that’s taken the next step forward was on full display in the second half against Watertown.
Close through the first two quarters, the Lady Yellow Jackets began to pull away in the third quarter. They outscored Watertown 13-2 in the quarter to seize control and never look back.
Before McKinney joined the program, wins like that hadn’t been possible for the last decade-plus.
“What she’s done in such a short time here is amazing,” Aponte said of her coach. “She’s pushed each and every one of us. She believed in us before we believed in ourself.”
