By Thomas Grant Jr.
This past season saw Spring Valley girls’ basketball coach Megan Assey battle more than opponents.
After undergoing breast cancer surgery last July, she led the Lady Vikings to 18 victories. They also finished third in the challenging Region 5-5A that produced Class 5A Division I champion Blythewood.
Assey’s inspiring effort earned her Travis Perry Brraveheart Award. Recognizing “individuals who exemplify the spirit of perseverance and courage,” she was presented the award during March’s S.C. Athletic Administrators Conference in Charleston.
On Friday, however, Assey announced the ninth season at Spring Valley was her last. She resigned from the position, citing the importance of following the treatment plan of her doctors and spending more time with husband and Cardinal Newman principal Charles Assey and their two children.
“I will miss the relationships with the players & seeing them push past barriers to achieve success on/off the hardwood,” Assey said. “I will also miss the fellowship with my coaches. My coaching staff over the years have always been an extended part of our family. I’ve been lucky to have such great coaches to assist me along the way.”
Assey won 161 games and four region titles with the Lady Vikings. She also made back-to-back Class 5A title game appearances in 2018 and 2019.
Spring Valley won the title in the former year as Assey was expecting her youngest son at the time. Assey was named the S.C. Girls Basketball Coach of the Year as the Lady Vikings finished ranked ninth nationally.
After finishing state runner-up in 2019, Spring Valley reached the Upper State final in 2023.
Assey’s coaching career began as a Charleston Southern assistant coach. She then took over as Brookland-Cayce head coach in 2012 and the following year became the first girls’ basketball coach at River Bluff.
Her best season was in 2014-15 when the Lady Gators reached the post-season with a 14-8 record. It’s also where she began a rivalry with Lexington girls’ basketball coach Molly Goodrich.
“I have coached against Megan Assey since I moved to the South in 2014,” she said. “The first time we met on the court, I was an assistant to Courtney Newton, and Megan was at River Bluff. It was my first rival game and it was a good one where she got the upper hand.
“When the River Bluff Gators stormed the court at Lexington after victory, I knew we had sparked something between us two. When she took the job at Spring Valley, we have either scrimmaged or played each other every year and in typical fashion – our games always come down to the wire and the past two seasons they both ended with a last second shot.
“Last year we got the upper hand when Braidi Goodrich made a game winning free throw and this year they got the upper hand when Lauren Crossland made a 3 pointer at the buzzer.”
Off the court, the two head coaches are friends and support each other.
“I will miss competing against coach Goodrich simply because I knew when we played each other it was going to be a battle until the final horn sounded,” Assey said. “Coach Goodrich is one of the best coaches in the state in any sport and not only that, she’s a person of high moral character & in today’s world you don’t find that often.”
“I am so proud of Megan’s strength and perseverance throughout the past 10 years of coaching,” Goodrich said. “But even more so in her battle with cancer and the hardships she had to go through and will continue to go through in her future. It takes a lot to step down from coaching because this is our calling, this is simply what we do, and for that I am super proud of Megan.”
Assey has not ruled out a return to coaching. For now, she will continue her duties at Spring Valley and Richland Northeast high schools.
“It will be sad not to coach against her in the future, but I know that she made the right decision because nothing is more important than your health and your family,” Goodrich said. “I wish her the best and I know she isn’t done …I’ll see her on the court sometime in the future!!”
