Warlassies strive to corral young talent while setting tone for the future

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
November 25, 2025

When Ann Marie Hammond wore an Owen basketball uniform, her ultra competitive style and knowledge of the game fueled her success.

As the former standout returns to the sidelines at her alma mater, where she takes the helm of a program for which she scored more than 1,300 career points in four years under a hall of fame head coach, she is hoping to harness her skill set and reverence for its legacy while instilling those qualities in the next generation of Warlassies.

A starter for Tim Raines, who coached 600 Owen basketball games before being inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2024, Hammond was known by her maiden name of Gardner when she wore her No. 33 jersey. The Black Mountain native is one of three siblings to have eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in their respective basketball careers with the school.

“I bleed maroon; my mom was an Owen basketball player,” said Hammond, who played for East Tennessee State University and Milligan University. “There is always apprehension when you go coach at the school you played for, but it’s also home, so there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Hired to lead her former team last summer, Hammond is the seventh Warlassies head coach since Raines retired in 2017. While the new head of the program inherited a young roster, she is singularly focused on restoring the program to its former glory.

“I have an opportunity to come in and be completely invested. I don’t have daughters, only sons, so my plan is to be here for the long haul, if they will let me,” she said. “My top priority coming in is to create a culture of competitiveness. That starts with the youngest players, even at the youth league level, and all the way up to here. I want them to understand the significance of having pride in this community and Warlassies basketball.”

Hammond, who along with her brother operates and volunteers for the nonprofit Owen Youth Sports league, which offers competitive basketball programs for Swannanoa Valley children, ages 4 through 12, previously served as an assistant coach at Reynolds under former coach Kathy Marlowe.

Prior to her arrival, the Warlassies won a combined 7 games in 2023 and 2024, and this year’s roster includes only one senior.

“I have some girls on this team who have never played basketball before, so right now we’re really working on instilling confidence in this group,” Hammond said. “The first thing we really want them to understand is that you have to go hard, because effort never fails you.”

Offseason workouts and the first three games of the campaign, in which Owen is 0-3, has been “all about fundamentals,” according to the coach.

“We’re already seeing improvements, every game, and we’re building from that,” she said. “What we’re really trying to get across to the girls is the importance of being competitive, whether it’s in practice or a game. No matter what we’re doing, we need to try to win.”

Relentless effort, she added, allows an inexperienced roster to to compensate for its lack of experience.

“We may not be the fastest, we may not be the tallest, we may not be the strongest, but we are going to be fundamentally sound,” she said. “If we do that, embrace the hard work and the girls are willing to be gritty, we’re going to compete.”

The Warlassies fell, 59-29, in their home opener, Nov. 21, against Tuscola, but freshman guard Aleah Myers represented the kind of development Hammond and assistant coach Jackson Shaw would like to see in their players.

Myers scored 21 of Owen’s points, hitting 9 out of 10 field goal attempts and pulled down 4 rebounds. Her supporting cast, including junior Lucille Conner, sophomore Audrey Mercurio and junior Ava Grant, all demonstrated the level of effort required to rebuild the program, according to the coach.

“Aleah is a great example, because she kind of struggled the first two games, specifically because of a lack of confidence,” Hammond said. “There was a time in the R-S Central game where she went to the hole and drew a foul with no time on the clock. I asked her if she was aware of how much time was on the clock and she said no.”

The coach urged her freshman player to maintain that level of focus in game situations.

“A lot of these girls can overthink things,” Hammond said. “I told her that’s exactly what I want her to do— just play. Being out there is all about getting away from everything else, and just playing the game. That’s what she did against Tuscola.”

The style is one the coach believes can be “contagious.”

"Audrey played really well, defensively, against Tuscola, and so did Lucille, so these are players who are stepping up and giving us something we can build on,” Hammond said.

As the Warlassies prepare to host R-S Central at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 25, the program is moving “onward and upward,” according to its first-year leader.

“These girls show up and work hard, so I’m already proud of them,” she said. “My whole goal is to cultivate character and culture, and make them better basketball players, and better women, than they were when I first met them. If we do that, we’ll compete and make the Valley proud.”

Photos of the Warlassies’ home opener against Tuscola can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.

Former Owen basketball star takes the reins

Warlassies strive to corral young talent while setting tone for the future