Fairlea – For years Greenbrier East guard Cadence Stewart has honed her craft. From a role-playing 3-point shooter to the focal point of the East offense, Stewart has played nearly every role imaginable for the Lady Spartans.
Her success has opened an opportunity to pursue a long-time dream.
Surrounded by teammates, friends and family, Stewart signed her National Letter of Intent Friday to play college basketball at Alderson Broaddus.
“I’d say it’s been a goal since sixth grade,” Stewart said. “In ninth grade my dad really sat me down about what we needed to do to get recruited and everything like that. I feel like it’s been a goal since for about eight years now. Every since (shooting coach) Jimmy (Clayton) taught me how to shoot correctly I’ve really loved basketball and wanted to play to for as long as I could.”
While Stewart explored her options, Alderson Broaddus wasn’t initially on the list. But once the interest was sparked talks picked up quickly. It didn’t hurt that the school provided something for her on the academic side.
“Alderson Broaddus kind of came late in the game for me,” Stewart said. “They just hired a new coach in July so I wasn’t really connected with them but I reached out and they are interested in me. They had me up for a visit and I really liked it. The coaching staff was fantastic, their values were fantastic and they could see me playing very soon. On top of that Alderson Broaddus is also a very good science school and I’m majoring in exercise science. That was a seller as well.”
Stewart’s coach and W.Va Gov. Jim Justice wasn’t surprised to see her make it official Friday. He made the call to insert her as the team’s defacto sixth man when she was a freshman, aligning her with a senior-laden group that made a semifinal run the year before her arrival.
“Even as a freshman, she came walking in and here’s this kid that’s not very fast and maybe not a great defender and an okay ball-handler at that time, but already developing a really pretty shot,” Justice said. “She played so hard in practice she made her way into the lineup on a senior type team and that’s saying a lot … She’s been a warrior, a great captain and a really, really special kid.”
Stewart’s role has been fluid throughout her career. She jumped from a role player as a freshman to the focal point of the program as a sophomore, which she’s been since that point, earning a pair of all-state selections.
“I was really scared about playing with the seniors my freshman year,” Stewart said. “I knew how talented they were and I didn’t think I was going to get to play a lot. My goal was to make varsity so I could go to Florida on the varsity trip. Going into sophomore year I was worried because it was a rebuild and we started late. Last year we had a shot to go to the state tournament, it just didn’t work out. But I think having to step up is going to help me at the level.”
Before Stewart heads north she still has goals she wants to accomplish such as play in the state tournament, but she also wants to improve her game to be ready next winter.
“I need to work on my foot speed,” Stewart said. “I know its a different level in college so I’ll need to get faster.”
