As a true freshman at Southern Mississippi, point guard Shonte Hailes admitted she didn’t think she would get to play much in her rookie season. However, Hailes’ hard work ended up paying off, as she played 32 games for the Golden Eagles, starting 28 of them and averaging 28.3 minutes a game. She finished this past season with 6.4 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game. “There was a sophomore ahead of me, so I thought it would be tough (to get playing time), but when I got in the groove, it kind of came easy,” Hailes said. Now, Hailes has positioned herself for an even bigger sophomore year. The former Quitman standout who helped lead the Lady Panthers to a Class 4A state championship in 2016 said she’s grateful for the opportunity, which didn’t come without its ups and downs. “Most freshmen struggle a lot, and I struggled a lot, but I had my teammates and coaches pick me up,” Hailes said. “Once you get back to form and doing what you did in high school, it feels great.” With playing time comes gradual improvement as a player, and Hailes had to become more of a distributor with the ball and learn to adjust to the speed of the college game. “I got better tremendously at shooting the midrange jumper and finding open teammates,” Hailes said. “I got better at knowing the personnel and who to get the ball to at what time. In high school, you’re just coasting sometimes, but in college, it’s up-and-down, non-stop. The tempo is way quicker than it was in high school.” The biggest adjustment, though, was the kind of shape in which she had to be in order to make it onto the court. “The adjustment was tough for me, because the conditioning level is higher than it was in high school,” Hailes explained. “The strength coach really had to push me to get into shape.” Hailes and the rest of her Golden Eagle teammates faced some adversity this past season when their head coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer, on her lung. She took a leave of absence in February. “It was kind of crazy, because right before we found out, we played a game at Western Kentucky where we were down pretty badly at the half,” Hailes recalled. “Her halftime speech was about what you would do when you face challenges. The next week, she told us she was diagnosed, and every game she missed, we said we were playing for Joye. Every game we played was for her.” Lee-McNelis is back working with the team now, Hailes said, and Hailes is looking forward to another year of being coached by her. “She doesn’t accept anything less than the best,” Hailes said. “She’ll push you that extra mile, especially as a point guard. She called my name a million times at practice, so it’s pretty tough being a point guard former, but she expects the best at all times. It’s great.” Even though she’s in college, Hailes still keeps in touch with Gina Skelton, who was her coach at Quitman. Skelton is currently coaching at Wayne County, but that doesn’t stop Hailes seeking her advice as much as she can. Hailes recalled one such instance where Skelton offered some much-needed words of encouragement. “When I was struggling, I got really discouraged, and I texted her, and we had a long talk,” Hailes said. “She kept me encouraged. She’s like a second mom. Whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on, I knew I could always go to her.” Hailes said she’s currently back at Southern Miss working out with the team. She said improving her 3-point shot is her No. 1 goal for the coming year.