On Wednesday, January 30, the varsity girls basketball team will travel to Eastern High School to compete in the first round of Sectional against Henryville. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m., following the Eastern and Providence game at 6 p.m.

“If we beat Henryville on Wednesday night, we have to begin to prepare for Friday night. That’s one thing that is different about Sectional week. You must focus on the first game, but you do have to plan for the future a little bit,” said JV coach Donovan Crews.

If Paoli advances out of the first round of Sectional, they will play again in the second round on Friday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. The championship game will be hosted Saturday, February 2 at 7:30 p.m.

The girls fell short last year in Semi-State after winning a Sectional and Regional championship. In turn, this year, they are going to make some adjustments and cope with changes to try and advance further.

“One thing that is different from last year’s team is the amount of leadership and the experience that comes with playing in a Sectional game. This year’s team doesn’t have the same amount of experience as we did last year. A lot of the girls have not had to play major minutes during tournament time because this was not their role last year. This year, most, if not all, are going to have to play for extended periods of time and not let the hype of the game get the best of them,” said senior Madison Street.

Coming off a successful 2017-2018 season, the team has hopes of grabbing another Sectional title this year.

Story by Makiya Russelburg