Our Court, Our Rules.

The stage is set. The teams are ready. One gold, one red. An age-old rivalry. 

This Thursday, everyone will remember that rivalry when the WN varsity girls basketball starting five take the court against the Odessa Bulldogs. The Lady Tigers have already started the regular season, taking a loss at Lawson last Tuesday. But, to quote Coach Hampton, “There are bigger things than wins and losses.” The girls learned from that game, and they are implementing new strategies and improving their weaknesses. The seniors all agree that something the team will improve on to secure the win is free throws. “We really need to work on free throws, to be honest. That’s a team weak spot right now, and that includes me,” says Senior Corinna Utterback. Senior Melanie Thornburg agrees and also wants to improve on talking on the court. 

On the other hand, the team has many improvements. The team (minus the freshman) is all returning, so the trust and relationships have been built and improved over time. As a result, “We had a lot of energy during the entire game, we had good defense, and we trusted each other with the ball. I think we will bring that the rest of the season,” said Senior Isabelle Miller. Utterback agrees, saying “I loved our intensity, and honestly, playing a real game for the first time since last season felt like slipping on a familiar jacket- I was just so comfortable and excited. That’s what it is to be a senior athlete I think. You’re just so comfortable and prepared and experienced. So, I’m excited to see my fellow seniors and I display that next game.” Brylinn Zykan and Kaylin Ellensohn are also returning. Zykan commented, “We had great energy even when we were down and we kept pushing. We did great on defense and were aggressive.” Kaylin agrees, and she hit the same points when talking about the team's overall improvement. 

The seniors are headed into their last season. Corinna Utterback says, “I have loved basketball ever since freshman year. It’s going to be very hard to let it go, so honestly I’m just trying not to think about it being my last year. I’m going to bawl my eyes out the very last game. I have too many thoughts on it and not enough time to share them all, so I’ll just say this- if I let myself think about it, I’ll be tremendously sad.” Melanie Thornburg felt the same way. “I am happy to be finally graduating, but I'm sad that it's going to be my last time playing basketball. It's been a fun four years with a lot of success. We have a strong team this year, and I believe that we can make it further than last year.” Isabelle said, “I am looking forward to this year, and excited for senior night. I finally have a leadership role on the team and I hope to make more long-lasting memories.” Senior Charlsie Lamphier “ feels nervous and excited at the same time.” She says she’ll always look back on the good memories and she built relationships she’ll keep for a long time. 

The Lady Tigers feel more prepared than they did last year, with a stronger team and better general morale, felt across the whole team. The game will take place at 5:30 on Thursday, November 30th.