The Paoli Lady Rams Basketball finished their season on February 2, when they lost to Linton in the second round of sectionals 46-40. Also in sectional play, the Lady Rams defeated the Mitchell Bluejackets 38-29 in the first round of sectionals. Varsity’s final season record was 11-13. Junior varsity’s final season record was 0-1. The junior varsity’s season mostly consisted of 2 quarter games, due to the number of players. They only played one full game throughout the season.
“I thought our season went pretty well. With Maddie out the first half of the season, we started with only two girls with any varsity experience at all. I
thought the girls handled that well and didn’t let that bother them. They came to practice everyday with the goal of getting better every day. I believe we were definitely playing our best basketball sectional week which is exactly what you want,” said Varsity Coach Donavan Crews.
The team had quite a few struggles they had to overcome throughout the season. The main struggle the team faced was the number of players. The team only consisted of ten players, with an additional three out with injuries throughout the season. In addition, of the ten players, two of them were seniors and one of them was an exchange student. The two seniors were Carley Higgins and Anna Radcliff.
“I think this year’s season was a little challenging, but as a team, I think we did a pretty good job overall,” said Radcliff.
The Lady Rams also placed 4th in PLAC. They defeated Mitchell and Perry Central and were defeated by Orleans, Crawford County, Springs Valley
and West Washington.
“I think our last season was good. Going into the start of the season we did not have high expectations from other people, but I think as time went on those opinions of us changed. I think we played very well under the circumstances we had. Although we lost in sectionals, I think our last game was our best game all season,” said Higgins.
Higgins plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Indiana University Southeast, where she will continue her basketball career.
The girls basketball program also hosted their annual Paoli Shootout. The Paoli Shootout is a tournament for grades 3-8 for surrounding schools or schools that signed up for it. Hosting this tournament helps raise money and pay for the upcoming high school season gear and shoes. This year, 19 teams participated. Paoli teams 3rd and 6th both placed 2nd place in their divisions as well.
“This shootout is our main fundraiser for the next year. It basically raises enough money by itself to allow us to buy our kids anything they want throughout the year. It also allows our girls to play in a shootout for free and get at least four more games in,” said Crews.
Although the season is finished, the team has yet to host the banquet. The banquet will be on March 27 and will be held in the school cafeteria.
