Coach Briley Palmer discusses making an impact as a Redhawk on and off the court

CAPE GIRARDAEU, Mo. (KBSI)- A slam dunk on and off the court — Briley Palmer — SEMO’s new Head Coach for women’s basketball says she is using the summer to get her Redhawks women to connect with each other and the community of Cape Girardeau.

The goal — a team that dominates the OVC at a time when women’s basketball — has never been hotter.

“When the SEMO situation approached, they reached out for the right reasons to me, and those reasons were culture and community and family atmosphere. That’s definitely a no-brainer and something I believe in 110%,” said Palmer.

She is a Farmington native with a heart for basketball here at home in southeast Missouri.

“It was close to family and my home in Farmington and that mattered more than I knew,” said Coach Palmer.

She spent four years as head coach at Mineral Area College where she also played after her time at Christian Brothers. With Mineral Area, she is fresh off a second-place finish in the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference.

“Everybody’s kind of shaped me in all different ways,” she said.

She wants Cape Girardeau to know she came to play and play to win.

“I bought in,” she said. “I was at MAC almost 13 years and I would only leave for a special occasion and that was this. I want to be a part of a program and change a culture and you can’t change a culture overnight — — and the direction that we are headed in is just going to be a long fun ride of kids that want to come and play at SEMO.”

She says her mentors taught her valuable lessons she now hopes to instill in her players.

“We’re not only going to make a difference on the court and it’s going to be special but we’re going to make a difference off the court in giving back to the community and winning with people,” said Palmer. “I want the community to buy into the kids — and as long as you know that we’re getting a little bit better every day — it’s going to be fun in March.”

She says the majority of the team is brand new — a group with great chemistry — that includes players ready to wear that Redhawk jersey — and make the community proud:

“I feel like we have a lot of pieces and we really are going to shock a lot of people,” said Kennedy Claybrooks.  “We have a new coach and new players and new faces – we really are going to shock a lot of people.”

“Giving the younger generation something to look up to and look forward to that’s really important,” said Briah Hampton.

“I feel like we going to win everything,” said Skyler Barnes. “We are going to win it all this year.”

“I think the best part of this team is they’re fearless,” said Coach Palmer.

Players say they can’t wait to see fans fill the Show Me Center and get behind local women’s basketball.