South Pemiscot, Southeast alum Shephard inks Mineral Area head coaching job

Southeast's Carrie Shephard (2) drives to the basket during a game against Tennessee State Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Tyler Graef ~ Southeast Missourian

With the hiring of former Mineral Area women’s basketball coach Briley Palmer to next lead the Southeast Missouri State women’s basketball team, the Cardinals had a big vacancy to fill.

After a couple of weeks of searching, it was clear that South Pemiscot and Southeast alumna Carrie Shephard was the woman for the job.

A tremendous local basketball product, leading the Bulldogs to two district championships and the Southeast women’s basketball team to an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title in 2020, Shephard has deep roots in the area.

Coming out of high school, Shephard was named Miss Show-Me Basketball, the top girls basketball player in Missouri, out of Class-2 South Pemiscot and signed on to play at the University of Missouri.

Later completing her college career at nearby Southeast Missouri, she even had the opportunity to turn professional and play overseas.

Initially going acros the Pacific Ocean to play in Australia’s NBL-1 League and then going across the Atlantic Ocean to play in the Women's Super League in Ireland, her time on the hardwood has been vast.

So, when the opportunity to join the staff at Mineral Area last fall opened up, Shephard joined Palmer’s staff for a season as the Cardinals pushed for another big season.

Finishing the year at 25-5, it presented an opportunity for both Palmer to leave and for Shephard to step into her shoes as the program leader.

Just one year removed from her first soiree as a coach, Shephard now coaches at an elite NJCAA Division-I program, inheriting a strong roster from Palmer’s highly successful time there.

A stone’s throw from home, the Park Hills, Missouri, program has a running history of success with three consecutive 20-plus win seasons with Palmer at the helm.

As a senior at South Pemiscot, in the inaugural Semoball Awards in 2014, Shephard earned the honors of being not just the first-ever Semoball Girls Basketball Player of the Year but also the first Semoball Female Athlete of the Year.

After high school, Shephard’s career was riddled with injuries, assisting in the decision to transfer from Missouri to Southeast and keeping her sidelined until the 2018-19 season.

Shephard put together a solid season that year, but it was the next year, her sixth and final year of eligibility, that not only elevated her game but Southeast’s game all the way to a conference title.

In her senior season at Southeast, Shephard averaged 16.9 points per game with 3.5 assists per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. Defensively, Shephard had an impressive 2.4 steals per game.