The Lady Rams started their week off on the road, taking on the Lanesville Eagles on Tuesday, December 5. The Rams only trailed by 13 at halftime to the defending State Champs 16-29. The Eagles had a good third quarter, outsourcing the Rams 8-18. However, the Rams outscored the Eagles in the fourth quarter 12-5. But Paoli came up short of Lanesville 36-52.
The leading scorers for the Rams were senior Carley Higgins, who scored 16 points, and junior Jericho Hopper, who scored 15. The Rams shot 7 of 10 at the free-throw line.
On Tuesday, the Lady Rams then traveled to Orleans to face the Bulldogs in the Rams’ first PLAC game of the season, the Rams lost 34-36.
The leading scorers for the game were junior Jericho Hopper, who scored 14 points; senior Carley Higgins, who scored 13 points; and junior Lilly Hall, who scored 6 points. The Rams shot 12 of 21 at the free-throw line. Orleans had some high scorers: sophomore Callie Alston, 16 points, and junior Cambree Cline, 11 points. The Bulldogs shot 10 of 13 at the line.
On Saturday, December 9, the Lady Rams hosted the Edgewood Mustangs following their tough loss to the Bulldogs, and they came out hot. The Rams scored 12 points in the first quarter compared to the Mustangs, who only had 3. The Rams scored another 10 points to close the half compared to the Mustangs 3. At halftime, the Rams were up 22 to 6 to bring their lead to a substantial lead. However, the Rams did not let up the gas and scored another 26 points in the second half compared to the Mustang’s 12 points.
Senior Carley Higgins led the Rams in the game with 23 points, junior Jericho Hopper scored 13 points, and junior Lilly Hall also had 4 points, assisting the Rams in their win over the Mustangs.
“I felt that our defense had improved from our previous games and that our offense had made a lot of progress and improved more from the Orleans game. We got people in the right spots, we all knew our roles, and we did them with confidence and effort. Our effort and unity is what stood out to me the most!” said junior Jericho Hopper.
The Varsity Boys Basketball team hosted their first PLAC game against the West Washington Senators on Friday, December 8. The Rams had a slow first quarter, getting outscored 4-11 against the Senators. The Rams returned in the
second half, tying it up going into the 19-19 at the half. It was a back-and-forth game and came down to a last-second shot that junior Fletcher Cole made to win the game for the Rams, 32-29.
“I think we underperformed against West Washington. This coming week, we need to stay focused in practice this week to be prepared for Austin,” said senior Andrew Kumpf.
The leading scorers for the Rams were junior Fletcher Cole, who scored 17 points, and sophomore Chad Sullivan, who scored 9 points. The Senators’ leading scorer was senior Ian Rosenbaum, who scored 14 points. The Rams are now 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in PLAC.
The Varsity Wrestling team traveled to the Corporal Greg Stultz Memorial meet on Saturday, December 9. In their first match against Greencastle, they lost 53-24.
Winning for the Rams was junior Jonny Shellenbeger with a win by fall in the first period in 1:32 at the 157 lbs. weight class, junior Ryley Buttler won by pin in the first period in 1:31 at the 215 lbs. weight class, and freshmen Cohen Warren with a win by pin in the first period in 1:33 at the 132 lbs. weight class.
The next opponent was Northview, with the Rams losing 54 to 24. Winners against Northview for the Rams were junior Jonny Shellenberger with a win by fall in the second period at the 157 lbs. weight class, freshman Cohen Warren with win by pin in the first period in 1:30 at the 132 lbs. weight class, freshman Wyatt Brashear with a win by fall in the second period at the 120 lbs. weight class, and lastly for the Rams was sophomore Deegan Brashear with a win by pin in the third period at the 138 lbs.
Next, the Rams faced Danville and suffered a tough loss of 53-18. However, for the Rams, there were three winners, including junior Jonny Shellenberger at the 157 lbs. weight class with a first-period pin in 1:32, freshman Cohen Warren with a third-period pin in the 132 lbs. weight class, and finally for the Rams was senior Larry “Fred” Warren with a first period pin in 1;13 in the 175 lbs. weight class.
The Rams then faced Terra Haute North and fell short, losing 65-18. Though winning for the Rams was sophomore Deegan Brashear with a win by pin in the first period in 1:45 at the 138 lbs. weight class, junior Jonny Shellenberger with a win by pin in the first period in 1:06 at the 157 lbs. weight class, and finally for the Rams was sophomore Logan Arthur with a win via pin in the first period in 1:01 for the 165 lbs. weight class.
To close out the day for the Rams, they were set to face West Vigo, though the Rams fell short and lost in a tough battle at 27-24. Winning for the Rams was freshman Cohen Warren, who won via pin in the second period at 1:45 at the 132 lbs. weight class, sophomore Deegan Brashear won via forfeit at the 138 lbs. weight class. Also for the Rams was junior Jonny Shellenberger with a win via forfeit at the 157 lbs. weight class, and lastly for the Rams was senior Larry “Fred” Warren with another win via forfeit in the 175 lbs. weight class. On the day, the Rams went 0-5, but a special achievement was that junior Jonny Shellenberger was announced as the tournament winner in the 152 lbs. weight class, going 5-0 for the Rams.
“I’m wrestling the best I ever have, and it showed against the teams that we faced this weekend at Northview which is a tough tournament,” said junior Jonny Shellenberger.
