Month: March 2026

Gainey Named WBB Coach of the Year

First-year head coach Ieshia Small Gainey has been named the NSAC Coach of the Year in Women’s Basketball after leading Apprentice to the conference championship.

Gainey took over the program in 2025 after serving as assistant coach. She immediately changed the culture and turned the struggling program around, guiding the Lady Builders to a 14-9 overall record and 5-0 in NSAC play, the top seed in last month’s conference tournament, then winning their first league title in program history.

Gainey came to Apprentice after playing five seasons internationally, including in China, Hungary, Ukraine and Poland. She played her college ball at Maryland, where she was selected the Big 10 Sixth Player of the Year in 2018. As a high school senior in Tallahassee, Florida, she was ranked No. 19 overall by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 3 at the wing position.

Congratulations to Ieshia Small Gainey, the NSAC Coach of the Year!

Henderson Leads All-Conference Picks

Adriana “AD” Henderson of SC Central Christian has been voted the Most Valuable Player for the New South Athletic Conference and leads the All-Conference team for 2026.

Henderson, a freshman guard from Lexington, South Carolina, received the most ballots in voting by the league’s coaches following a standout performance in the NSAC Women’s Basketball Tournament last month. The Gladiators team captain averaged 16.2 points per game and nearly five assists per game, scoring or assisting on nearly half of her team’s points in conference play.

“Congratulations to AD and to all the young ladies for an outstanding season,” said conference commissioner Mike Davis. “The athletic ability and skill was certainly not in short supply this season, and I’m already looking forward to seeing many of these talented student-athletes back on the floor next year.”

2026 NSAC Women’s Basketball All-Conference

FIRST TEAM

  • AD Henderson, SC Central (MVP)
  • Maya Lopez, Beacon
  • Carly James, Mid-Atlantic Christian
  • Dajanelle Linton, Apprentice
  • Carnasia Lamberson, Apprentice
  • Abigail Theophile, Millennia Atlantic

SECOND TEAM

  • Angenai Martin, Millennia Atlantic
  • Maia Brown, SC Central
  • Joy Wright, Apprentice
  • Rosemary Franco, Atlantis
  • NeOndra Kelly, Apprentice

THIRD TEAM

  • Amaris Ramos Acevedo, Atlantis
  • María José Quiroga, Atlantis
  • Angelina Bologna, Mid-Atlantic Christian
  • Jataya Brown, SC Central