Norris, Dutch Fork looking to bring back success
By WORTHY EVANS
Special to HSSR
Columbia - Succeeding legendary coaches is something Candace Bush has a knack for doing.
The first-year head coach of the Dutch Fork girls took over from Faye Norris, who retired after 30 years of coaching last year. She led the Silver Foxes to three straight state championships from 2012-2014.
Bush came from 2A Columbia High, where in 2021 she succeeded Bobby Young, who retired after 38 seasons and five state titles with the Capitals.
“It’s been good,” Bush says about taking over programs with a storied past. “I like to say all the time, it’s pressure, but it’s good pressure. That way I’m going to continue to work hard and get better as a coach so that way I can continue to build on what was already here.”
What is here at Dutch Fork is a girls team eager to win the Region 4-5A championship and go deep into the playoffs. The Silver Foxes haven’t scored a region crown since 2014.
The three seniors on the team, Antoinet Cheeseboro, Christyonna Jackson, and Krystian Spratley, met with Bush not long after the took over the team. Bush’s and the seniors’ goals meshed quickly.
“They wanted to advance in the playoffs further than where they’ve gone which has been about the second round,” Bush explained. “I told them the first goal was to win the region. With region we get home court advantage and it makes it easier. We play much better at home.”
So far, so good. Dutch Fork, 18-3 overall, is atop the region standings with a 5-0 mark going into Tuesday’s game against White Knoll. The Silver Foxes are even coming off a 48-33 home win over Lexington Jan. 23.
That win is what Bush considers a benchmark as her team looks to shake off the past decade of misfortune. Dutch Fork was 2-12 against the Wildcats over the past seven years.
“This is a hump that they’ve been trying to get over I think for the last five or six years,” Bush said. “Since we’re kind of over it now, I think we can get there, it won’t be so intense for the girls.”
Instead, Bush and the Silver Foxes want to make the gym intense for their opponents. Bush has worked the team hard over the offseason for them to press full-court from tipoff to the final buzzer of every game.
“I told the girls to make sure they be ready to run and press the entire game, for games like this,” Bush said. “Teams that are usually used to falling back at half court works to our advantage in the fourth quarter.”
Defense and forcing turnovers has paid off for Dutch Fork as they head to the final stretch of region play, and the team demonstrated against Lexington that they clearly like where they’re headed. The Silver Foxes held the Wildcats to single digits in every quarter, and their highest point total, 18 points, came in the fourth quarter.
Over the season, Junior guard/forward Michaela Fairwell leads the team with 17.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.8 steals, and 3.2 assists per game. Antoinet Cheeseboro averages 11.3 points and Christyonna Jackson averages 9.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. Freshman Trinity Crumlin averages 5.1 boards and 4.8 points.
That success is aided by Bush’s coaching style. While she says she makes practice intense, she tries her best to keep a calm demeanor at courtside.
“I don’t yell a lot,” she said. “Coming in, I told them that I’m kind of quiet because I don’t want to get them worked up during a game. I want them to stay calm even though we’re in intense situations.”
The boys team, 8-13 overall and 0-4 in the region, is led by Bryson Taylor, who averages 12.6 points per game. Sophomore Justus Bell leads in rebounding with 4.9 rebounds per game.
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