Basketball standout Ariyona Spearman, who led the Union Spartans basketball team to success and a conference title in her senior year, will continue her career at the next level.
In a dimly-lit auditorium at Union High on Tuesday, Spearman took to the stage with her mom, Alisia Murphy, where a pair of seats awaited just them. Surrounding them were Union’s signature colors, a trophy on their team’s 2024 conference title and Spearman’s No. 23 jersey.
Behind them were stacks of balloons on both sides that stuck out as they were black and gold, a hint of her soon-to-be college destination. After a long wait and much pondering, Spearman’s family, friends, teammates and coaches, who all came to show support, finally got to witness her sign the dotted line for UNC-Pembroke, home of the Braves.
“Well, I’m just extremely proud of myself because I waited this out until the last minute because I wanted to go somewhere that I really wanted to play,” Spearman said about her signing. “Pembroke was it because the coach there, she was confident in me. She told me I was going to have to work and I’m more than willing to work.”
She wasn’t the only one proud of the achievement as her mom shared similar feelings when speaking about her daughter before the signing.
“I thank everyone that’s here and who helped her reach this moment and I’ll say this: There are quite a bit of miles that we put on my vehicle to get here, but it has been worth it,” said Murphy. “At the end of this, she got the reward and I thank you all again for offering good support to her and always being the biggest cheerleaders for her. I’m the biggest one, but you guys definitely have had her back and I thank you all so much. That said, I cannot wait to see you at the next level and I’m so proud of you.”
Lady Spartans head coach Bryant Register coached Spearman throughout her time as a Spartan. He was another of those proud individuals who spoke at length on the star guard, saying it was his honor to have coached Spearman.
“It’s amazing where time goes, it seems like only yesterday you were over in the gym playing in the summer league basketball game,” he said. “Now, 1,802 points later, a dream becomes a reality and you get the sign with UNC-Pembroke. It has been a real pleasure to be your coach over these last four years. You’ve been a leader on and off the court and you’ve put in numerous hours of work season after season.
“Most importantly has been the work you put in, in the classroom, that’s what’s made this point possible today. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for our Lady Spartans program. You’ve represented our school and our community in the first class manner that it should be represented in.”
Spearman took her time before landing on Pembroke, and reflected on what made her ultimately opt for that program.
“I went to tour the school and I just simply loved literally everything about it, down to the coaches, to associates, the athletic training that they had, the classes,” she said. “They had everything for me.”
Spearman had a stellar showing on the hardcourt for Union, averaging 23.8 points per game, 2.8 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in 73 games played over four years, according to statistics through MaxPreps. She also played volleyball and softball during her time at Union.
“I’ve got a lot (of favorite moments), but probably when I got my 1,000 points, I loved that and then being able to take my team to the championship twice — two times in a row,” she said of her high school career highlights. “That was probably my top two.”
Register left Spearman with a few parting words that he wanted her to take with her to UNC-P as the road to the next level meant the workload becomes that much heavier.
“Now remember, as you go to the next level, it becomes more work, more responsibility and more accountability on your part,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I want you to stay true to the person that you have become. Don’t settle, as you’ve often heard me say before — expect more and want more. I’m so happy that I’ll get the opportunity to see you play at the next level, God bless you at UNC-Pembroke. Congratulations.”
As for Spearman’s own thoughts on what her future holds, she said she’s ready to work and add on to the success that is the women’s basketball team at Pembroke.
“I’m just going to work hard at Pembroke and try to do the biggest thing I can there, which is help and try to go for another championship,” she said. “I mean, they’ve been to the championship and won twice in a row, so I hope to be a part of that there.”
Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.
