Synia Chattman has been the heart and soul of the Isabella girls basketball program in recent years and was named The Clanton Advertiser Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second-straight year.

Her senior season was a memorable one. She helped lead the team to the regional semifinals, the best finish in school history, all while chasing 2,000 career points.

“We’ve never had a group to advance that far,” Chattman said. “It was one of my favorite games.”

Although Chattman finished 85 points short of the 2,000-mark, the fact that she was on the verge is a testament to her ability as a scorer.

She will graduate as the career leader in scoring for Isabella girls basketball with 1,915 points after averaging 24.2 points per game her final season.

“I don’t think we win near the games we’ve won without her,” Isabella head coach Jared Day said. “A lot of people [teammates] looked up to her.”

What separates Chattman from other players is that she is equally disruptive as both a ball handler and a defender.

She does not have to have the ball in her hands to make plays and have an impact in the game.

A majority of Isabella’s points was a direct result of forcing opponents into turnovers with its pressure defense.

Chattman’s quick hands earned her 185 steals on the season, along with 132 rebounds and 83 assists.

“Looking back from when I started to now, I’ve definitely come a long way,” Chattman said.

According to Chattman, she was not completely convinced that basketball would be a sport for her when she started in seventh grade.

A handful of years later, she has no doubt that she made the right decision to stick with it.

“I had to put in a lot of work, and I just kind of grew into it,” Chattman said.

Although it took a little longer for Chattman to realize her potential, Isabella head coach Jared Day could see it early on.

According to Day, Chattman put together a 20-point performance in a junior varsity game against Verbena and was called up to start a couple of games on varsity as a seventh grader.

With Day having coached Chattman since seventh grade, she knew exactly what he wanted to do and the philosophy that he wanted to implement from the sideline.

“We spent a lot of time talking about situations,” Day said. “By this year, I didn’t have to say much a lot of times. She knew when to push the ball and what sets to get us in.”

 

All-Advertiser Girls Basketball Team

First Team

Adi Argent, Chilton County, Jr.

Synia Chattman, Isabella, Sr.

Kiara Ford, Isabella, Jr.

Kiara Steele, Chilton County, Jr.

JaNiya White, Verbena, Jr.

 

Second Team

Lexis Blackman, Chilton County, Sr.

Tydasia Davis, Maplesville, Jr.

Karmen Mims, Jemison, Sr.

Alexis Owens, Isabella, Sr.

Hannah Smith, Thorsby, Jr.

Abby Tindol, Billingsley, Sr.