Northeast Mississippi Community College Athletics

Brenda Mayes started the process of transforming the Northeast Mississippi Community College women’s basketball program into a national powerhouse.

She was part of Northeast Sports Hall of Fame member Ricky Ford’s first recruiting class as commander in chief of the Lady Tigers in 1981. Northeast produced a 14-11 record and qualified for the Mississippi Junior College Conference North Half Tournament in her initial season on the Booneville campus.

The Lady Tigers improved tremendously during the 1982-83 campaign with Mayes in the post. Northeast compiled a 26-8 overall record and finished just short of claiming a state and regional championship.

She was selected to the MJCC All-State team for her efforts as the leading scorer and rebounder for a Lady Tiger squad that averaged 74.2 points and 40.8 boards per contest, respectively.

The Biggersville High School alumnae averaged a double-double that year with 21 points and 10.5 rebounds each outing. Mayes totaled an outstanding 697 points for the entire season.

Mayes signed a scholarship with the University of North Alabama following her excellent pair of seasons at Northeast. She flourished with the Lady Lions as well and connected on over 50 percent of her shot attempts for 919 career points.

The Corinth native led North Alabama to its initial trip to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament in 1984. One year later, Mayes and the Lady Lions claimed their inaugural Gulf South Conference (GSC) regular season and tournament titles and returned to the NCAA Tournament.

Mayes and teammate LaConger Cohran were the first ladies to be recognized as All-GSC for two straight campaigns. She was also named to the 1985 NCAA South Region All-Tournament team and the Kodak NCAA Division II All-American lineup.

She was a founding member of the Northeast softball program as well and starred for two seasons under the watch of coach Millard Lothenore. The Tigers, who played at the slowpitch level in the 1980s, compiled an 11-13 record in their opening campaign with victories over North Alabama and Blue Mountain College.

Northeast’s 1983 edition that featured Mayes qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament in Cullman, Ala., with a 24-7 overall mark.

Mayes was the recipient of the Tiger Award, which is given to a student-athlete that represents Northeast with a positive attitude on-and-off the field or court and is actively involved in school functions and organizations, for both softball and women’s basketball.

She has enjoyed a large amount of success as a coach at Muscle Shoals (Ala.) High School since graduating from North Alabama. Mayes won four Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) volleyball state crowns and qualified for the AHSAA Elite Eight in girls basketball.

Mayes has been tabbed as Coach of the Year in both sports that she currently instructs by The Times Daily and in volleyball only by The Birmingham News, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association.

She is also a member of the North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame and the Colbert County (Ala.) Sports Hall of Fame.