With the girls’ basketball season drawing to a close, the team has left behind a trail of accolades and a district record breaking playoff run. However, with its often mentioned young team, the loss at the state championship in San Antonio isn’t the end of the road for the lauded young team.

“I think our girls know we could have been better. But whether it ends with a championship or not, we ended better than we ever had,” head coach Ross Reedy said. “We really are encouraged that we know that we can be better. It helps to have youth, and it helps to have the same kids sticking around, but it would be the same thing if we had a senior-led team. We’re just excited that there’s aspect for growth. Whether you play sports or you’re looking at life in general, I think it’s boring when you quit growing.”

With the coaching staff having a mentality of growth, the players mirror their thoughts for the future. With four consecutive district championships and four deep playoff runs under their belt, experiencing state for the first time serves as an impetus for future playoff runs and accomplishments.              

“People think we are the underdog,” freshman guard Randi Thompson said. “It’s just good to show people that we’re good even though we’re all small and people don’t think we’re good. I’m proud that when we saw good teams, we didn’t just choke. We still played our best basketball instead of shutting down.”

In keeping with the accolades, junior guards Rebecca Lescay and Jordan Hamilton won positions on the All-Tournament team with their performances in the state semifinal and state championship games in San Antonio.                         

“Experiencing state is definitely motivation to get there again, and ultimately win the state championship,” junior forward Rebecca Lescay said. “It was a great learning experience, because it was something none of us had experienced before.”

With only two seniors on the team, and a starting lineup made up of three juniors, a sophomore, and a freshman, the team is often praised for its success despite lacking in years.

“I’m proud because we had a lot of girls in new roles this year,” varsity assistant coach Leslie Powell said. “We graduated four seniors that were great leaders, so we had to ask girls to step into these roles that they had to fill completely. I’m really proud of these girls, and these young girls that came along a lot quicker because we needed them to. They stepped up and did what was asked of them, no questions asked.”

Even with younger girls making up the majority of the team, for seniors, making it to  the state tournament to round off their high school careers is a big deal as players who have seen the last four years of success.

“I think it was a really good way to end my senior year and to get all the way to the final, even though we didn’t win,” senior guard Lauren McKeen said. “I think it represented how hard we worked this season and what we mean as a team. Because the team was so young, the fact that we got so far together was really important because it’s hard to teach freshmen. It’s hard to make them disciplined and I’m really proud of all the freshmen for stepping up.”

Even with the accolades, accomplishments and records that the team can now claim, the coaching staff and players emphasize the character with which they play as a central part of their team and initiative. According to Reedy, this character is the quality that he is proud of his team for displaying.

“I don’t think they even know this, but these girls have really inspired a number of coaches and fans,” Reedy said. “There are people that have become fans, really followers, not just through our district and our little community, but beyond that. That has been really cool and really uplifting for me to see our girls have that kind of impact on people they don’t even know. It’s not so much the accolades, but people recognizing us, and wanting to be a part of this.”