On an undefeated and nationally ranked team like the Northside Lady Bears, there are players who know their roles.

Some are counted on to score. Some are counted on to rebound. Some are counted on to play defense.

Deairah Mays, a 5-foot-9 senior forward/guard, has the ability to do all three things. But without question, defense is her calling card.

“It would probably be defense, because if there’s one player on the other team that’s really good and they’re like the top scorer, I can stop them from scoring multiple points,” Mays said. “Then if there’s like another scorer on the team, I can stop them from scoring the amount of points that they score every game.

“Every person that I’ve like guarded so far that’s like the top scorer, they really haven’t scored as much as they normally do in regular games.”

One advantage to Mays’ role as a defender is her long arms, which are capable of disrupting foes whenever the ball is in their hands. In fact, she leads the Lady Bears in steals with 31.

“I think my biggest strength is stopping them from making passes because my arms are long, and I stay down and I stay on my feet,” Mays said. “When we go through scouting reports, I focus on (the opposing players) and what their next moves are going to be and I get it all figured out and I just stop them from making their next move to where they’ve got to force to pass the ball.”

Northside coach Rickey Smith likes how Mays has embraced her role to lock down the opposition on the defensive side.

“Defensively, she just kind of glides out there; I mean she’s a really, really smooth defender,” Smith said. “Probably the biggest thing with Deairah is just how she’s being a leader and how she’s accepted her role.


“She understands she’s going to be guarding the other team’s best player every night and she understands that’s her number one priority is to lock them up defensively, and she’s accepted that and embraced that.”

But Mays — who averages 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game — can be counted on to perform those roles on the Lady Bears when necessary. She had eight points in the team’s last game, a win against Southside.

“I score when I need to score, and I rebound probably 50 percent of the time whenever nobody’s on the court, I’ll try to rebound,” Mays said.

And whenever Mays steps onto the court, she gains more and more confidence.

“I think, in my senior year, I got more confidence, I’m more positive and I’m playing with more of a positive attitude, always making sure that my teammates are good,” Mays said. “Just being a leader on and off the court. ... I feel like my senior year is going better than each of the past two years since I’ve been here.”

It also helped Mays to just concentrate on basketball instead of focusing on playing both basketball and volleyball, which she did as a sophomore and junior.

“My sophomore year, I didn’t have as much confidence because I was stuck on two sports and my junior year, I was focused on two sports, too,” Mays said. “Towards the end of basketball season (as a junior), I knew that we had a chance to win state because we kept getting closer and closer, and this year, I feel like we have a really good chance to win state this year.”


Mays got a taste of state tournament basketball as a junior when she was pressed into the starting lineup down the stretch due to an injury. In the Lady Bears’ win against Rogers in the opening round of the 7A state tournament, Mays had seven points along with grabbing two offensive rebounds and distributing three assists.

“She got better, her confidence grew,” Smith said. “Last year, I don’t think basketball was very high on her priority list and I think now, basketball is very high on her priority list and she’s taken that leadership role and is obviously one of the key, key players on the team and just proud of that commitment.”

Mays is also living up to her family legacy as a Lady Bear. Both her mother (Juanita McElwee) and aunt (Jerica McElwee) played at Northside, and Jerica McElwee was the MVP in the game which won Smith his first state title as the Lady Bears’ coach exactly 20 years ago.

Now, Mays wants to join her aunt in getting a state title ring. It’s been so far so good this season for Northside, which is 19-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state and among the top 10 in the nation.

The Lady Bears return to the court Friday at home against Bryant in 6A-Central action.

“We’re not cocky about it, we’re still pushing to get higher and do better,” Mays said. “Some games, we play off but we know what we’re capable of doing, so we’ve got to keep working hard and just try to win these last seven (regular season) games and then worry about (the state tournament).”
