Amanda Bishop
NCR Editor & Publisher
The Hilliard Lady Flashes end their season among the Rural Class Final Four for the second year in a row, but the fire is still lit and they’re determined to return to state and claim victory.
They faced the Jay Lady Royals Feb. 24, falling 53-39. Jay later lost to state champion Williston 66-49.
What the Lady Flashes’ scoreboard didn’t reflect was the growth they’ve continually built upon. Two of the starters, Reah Saunders and Justice Alderman, are eighth-graders. A third, Charlee Matos, is a freshman. All three competed in the state playoffs in 2025 as well, in seventh and eighth grade then. And they will all return to Hilliard’s court next season, a little older, a little wiser, and a lot stronger.
“When their IQ catches up with their skill level – wait until the IQ and maturity catch up with the skill,” Coach Daneisha Alderman said. “If they get bigger … oh, man.”
Saunders was premature when she was born and is a month older than Alderman instead of a month younger than her. The cousins have grown up on the basketball court together.
The varsity needed athletes on the roster as the 2024-25 season heated up and the coaches needed the young student-athletes.
“We looked at each other and said, ‘They’re going to grow up fast,’” Coach Alderman said. “I do believe last year’s Final Four was a bit of a shock for them.”
This year they were familiar with the Final Four setting and had the bonus of the state’s venue shift to the University of North Florida, which allowed the stands to be packed with a sea of red as Hilliard fans cheered them on.
“Our community has been nothing short of amazing,” Alderman noted.
Hilliard’s front court defense was impressive but Jay controlled the inside.
“We got beat inside,” Alderman said. “It was an inside game for them.” The Royals also rebounded often, besting Hilliard 39-17 under the hoop.
Jay worked hard to add fouls against senior Lady Flash Kailyn Ballance and tried to shut down senior Alyssa Hallman’s scoring. She led the Lady Flashes with 12 points while Saunders added 10 and Matos added 8 points. Hallman also led in rebounds with five.
She joined teammates in prayer on the floor after the final buzzer.
“It’s a lot of different emotions going through my head,” the Belmont Abbey College commit said.
She’s proud of the team for its growth, even if they didn’t accomplish their overall goal.
“If you look from the very first practice and games we had, we learned what we needed to do better,” Hallman said.
Alderman agreed.
“Our motto this year was 1% better every day,” she said, adding that the team achieved that goal.
Hallman has parting words for her teammates.
“Always just lean on each other,” she said. “Don’t look to lean on anybody else, because at the end of the day, all you have is the players you’re with on the court.”
As for whether the Lady Flashes will return to state and win the championship, “100% they will,” Hallman affirmed.
The Lady Flashes are young and eager.
“We’re chasing it because we’re hungry,” Alderman said. “These girls are energized.”
She’s joined by coaches Brea Saunders and Kearsten Whiten.
Saunders played basketball overseas and for Stetson University after competing with Hilliard in the Final Four in 2012 and 2013. If Hilliard returns to the Final Four in 2027, little sister Reah Saunders will pass her by getting to the finals three years in a row.
Whiten also played for Hilliard, with her team in the Final Four in 2015.
The Saunders’ mother, Wanda, was on the Lady Flashes’ only team to ever make it to the state final in 1988, finishing the year second in the state.
Alderman also played for Hilliard, but her team lost to Jay in the Final Four in 1995 and on the road to state in 1998.
The team wants the school’s first girls basketball state championship
“We heard our fans,” Alderman said. “We are already game on. We will be back. We won’t stop.”