Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Briarwood’s Mary Beth Dicen (2) dribbles the ball downcourt in a game against Helena at Helena High School on Jan. 9.
Mary Beth Dicen knows only one speed: fast.
As the four-year starting point guard for the Briarwood Christian School girls basketball team, Dicen has made her reputation pushing the ball up the floor. Her quickness is one of her best attributes.
“She’s a special kid. God gave her a big gift,” Briarwood coach Lorie Kerley said.
One of the things that pleases Dicen most is that her teammates know and understand this about her, and they are able to keep up.
“We have a lot of fast players, including our posts,” she said. “So we play really, really quick. We always look to pass and share the ball really well.”
Dicen stands in her own category on the team, in terms of age and experience. She’s the only senior, and there are no juniors on the varsity team this season.
She admits it took her a little time to feel comfortable with the role, but it’s one she now fully embraces.
“What I say and how I act and how I lead or play doesn’t go unnoticed to [the underclassmen],” she said. “I think about when I was younger and I looked up to my seniors, and I would remember the ones that I was like, ‘Wow, they really made an impact of life.’”
Kerley remembers watching Dicen play junior high ball and knowing she would make an impact at the high school level immediately. There was no hesitation about inserting her into the starting lineup from day one of Dicen’s ninth grade season.
“She just stepped right into the point guard position and it was exactly what we needed,” Kerley said.
Dicen said she was a bit unsure of herself as a ninth and 10th grader, but with age came much more self-confidence. She said much of that belief comes from her younger teammates’ trust in her.
Kerley calls Dicen a perfectionist, which is a benefit in many aspects of life. On and off the court, Dicen is an artist and hates making mistakes. She just has to be sure she channels that energy in the right directions.
“That’s something that God can use later in her life,” Kerley said. “She’s driven. She’s going to be successful in whatever she does, because she works so hard.”
As of press time, Briarwood was in the middle of area play, competing against Pelham and Helena. The Lady Lions hope February brings much of the same success as last season, as they advanced past the area tournament and won in the sub-regional round to make it to the regional tournament.
This year’s team appears capable of doing that. After an early-season loss to Gadsden City, Kerley pointed to a meeting between Dicen, Ann Tatum Baker and Emma Kerley. They hashed out some of their goals and committed to the team’s direction. Since then, the progress has been steadily upward.
“We’ve been a total different team since then,” Lorie Kerley said. “I love to watch her on the court. When we come out of a timeout, she grabs everybody and talks to them and gets everybody on the same page.”
Dicen is one of four kids and grew up watching older brothers Jack and Nic play basketball — and in Nic’s case, football — so she has seen it all. She wants to enjoy her final stretch as a Briarwood student-athlete. Her coach believes there is plenty of potential for that to happen.
“I don’t think we’re finished growing yet,” Kerley said. “I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet.”
