BAILEYTON, Tenn. (WJHL) – North Greene’s Cambell Gaby has been a two-sport athlete since elementary school, but she insists that basketball isn’t her strong sport.

“I’m just not the best at it, but I do like it,” she smiled.

But, her starting spot on a state tournament team this past season begs to differ. The senior has worked hard from her time in mini-ball all the way up to a varsity Huskies squad that seems to make an annual trip to Murfreesboro.

However, it’s not the district championships that have kept Gaby coming back to the hardwood.

“Basketball is a team sport – you have to be able to work with your team and have team chemistry to be able to succeed,” she said.

And Gaby said this team’s chemistry was something special.

“I love them to death – they are just my best friends,” she said of her teammates. “We all get along really well. We all know how each other plays and I think that really helps us with our success that we’ve had this year.”

The Huskies overcame adversity in 2022-23 – including injuries and losses to graduation – to book a fourth-consecutive trip to the Class 1A state quarterfinals in Murfreesboro.

“The word we’ve come up with this year is ‘persevere’,” Gaby shared.

North Greene saw its season come to an end in a quarterfinal matchup with Van Buren County. But, for Gaby, as one season ends, another begins with softball.

“I just love being on the field – I’ve just loved it ever since I was little,” she said.

More specifically, she loves standing in the circle as a pitcher.

“I just kind of picked it up one day,” she recalls. “My dad was like ‘Well, you want to see if you can pitch?’ and it just kind of came naturally to me. I just kept going to lessons, kept picking it up and here I am now.”

Heading into her senior season, Gaby has already been named an all-district and all-region performer multiple times. In 2021, she was named to the Class 1A All-State squad. None of it happened by accident – and certainly not by taking any shortcuts.

“I put in a lot of extra work on the side and I’ve done that ever since I was a freshman,” she said. “I like working hard for it and then being able to see it come to play on the field.”

Gaby hopes it all translates to a state tournament appearance on the diamond this spring. But, playoffs or not, she is thankful for her coaches and the teammates that have helped shape who she has become.

“Just being able to see myself grow in these sports has really been rewarding and I just love the people around here,” she said. “It’s just been a really good experience.”

Following her senior softball campaign, Gaby will attend Johnson University and continue her pitching career at the collegiate level.

“That’s what I wanted my whole life and it was especially calming right before my senior season, so I can just not have to focus on that,” she said. “Just focus on the season and have it waiting for me when it’s done.”