08 Jan 2014 St. Joseph's Mayor contributes on the court, in the community
by Levi Gilbert
Anna Mayor has never had to look too far for her sports role model.
“He’s not a professional or anything, but my dad is my role model,” Mayor said. “He was a good player when he played back in high school. I always try to make him proud and be like him. He played at St. Joseph, too.”
Mayor, a senior forward for the St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs, has had basketball running through her veins for as long as she can remember.
“I started playing when I was about 6,” she said. “I have three other cousins that were the same age as me, and my uncles and my dad were really into basketball. We decided, well, we already have half the team — we might as well play, too.”
Mayor was nominated and selected to the inaugural 501 Basketball Team, which is made up of male and female student-athletes honored for their on- and off-the-court accomplishments and contributions.
“Anna is a good player with her scoring and rebounding,” Coach Chris Kordsmeier said in his nomination. “She’s a good leader as well, a model student and good role model. She’s reliable, dependable and willing to help the younger players as well as her classmates.”
The Bulldogs were runner-up in district last year and lost in the first round of the regional tournament. Mayor was the second leading scorer and leading rebounder on last year’s squad.
“My favorite memory from last year, we were in a game at Rose Bud,” Mayor said. “My teammate hit a three-pointer to send us into overtime. And then I hit the winning free throws to win the game in overtime.
“Our goals are to make it to state. We want to focus on working well as a team and not making it about individual players.”
At 5-foot-7, Mayor isn’t the prototypical post player, which is something she’s had to overcome on the court.
“Most girls are 5-foot-10, so size is a big issue,” she said. “You just have to play more aggressive and do lots of shot fakes until you can go around them. I want to be more aggressive than I have been in past years.
“I just need to do as much as I can physically to help my team out. I like to kick it out – we have a good shooter on our team, my cousin Meagan Briggler. She and I work pretty well together on our inside and out game.”
The two were a pretty potent combination last Friday against Greers Ferry West Side — Briggler had 17 points and five rebounds and Mayor had 10 points and five rebounds. Next up the Lady Bulldogs face Quitman this Friday before taking on cross-town rival Conway Christian.
“It’s always a fight between us and Conway Christian,” Mayor said. “It’s a lot of fun, but a lot of pressure. You don’t want to mess up. You don’t want to be the one to lose it for your team.”
Mayor also plays softball (first base) at St. Joseph and is involved in National Honor Society and volunteering with Junior Optimist at the Optimist concession stand.
Mayor has big plans after graduation this May.
“My plans are to go to Arkansas Tech as a pre-physical therapy major,” she said. “And once I get my degree in that, I will go to physical therapy school at UCA. All my family lives here in the 501. They’re very important to me, and I just want to stay close to them.”
