Chargers History

BY NATALIE MCGARRY

Get your head in the game.

The girls basketball team had a tough season with many setbacks but pushed through to their final games.

The Lady Chargers going to these games means a lot to the team since very few schools make it this far. The Rupp Arena games are always exciting for the students since they’re allowed to come and support the girls and watch them make history. Even though they lost against Sacred Heart High School in the final round, being able to make it that far is a huge accomplishment for the team and an experience they can use for the next season.

The Lady Chargers were looking forward to these games since the start of the season. They worked hard to prepare for them, individually and as a team. “Every team wants to make it to the Sweet 16, that’s every high school player’s dream,” junior Lilly Reid said. Reid has been playing basketball since second grade and is currently the point guard for the Lady Chargers. Making it to these games can mean a lot for the team and can show how good they can be. Keeping focus on what they need to do and their end goal was important to the team so they could end the season on a good note. “I think I help the team keep their eyes focused on what our main goal is and that definitely was to get to Rupp Arena and then finish in the last game of the season which is what we did and I’m proud of that,” senior Emma Egan said. Egan has been playing basketball for 12 years and her position varies from playing as the point guard, combo guard and some shooting guard. Being able to play in these games shows how far the Lady Chargers can go in their careers and how they can overcome the challenges that arise in their season.

At the start of the season, there were high hopes for the team with many seniors ready to take the lead and other talented players. “We knew early on that this year’s team was very talented from the beginning. We really overcame quite a few injuries that slowed our start to the season and our girls and staff did an awesome job of keeping everyone together and headed forward throughout the year,” Coach Chris Stallings said. Stallings has been the girls head coach since 2000. The Lady Chargers are pushed throughout their season to make it a good season and be able to finish strong. ‘’I feel expectations are always high for our program and this year were higher than normal so I really feel our players and staff did a good job of not letting those get to us in a negative way as well,“ Stallings said. The team was able to persevere through their season and have a good end with their school supporting them at the Rupp Arena games.

Going to the championship games is a big deal for the team and their community. It gives the teams a chance to show off their skill and also be able to get an important title for the team. When the Lady Chargers make it to the Championship games, their name is known to other teams and it makes them someone to watch out for. ”If you win then you’re one of the top teams in the whole state, there’s no arguing that because you made it farther than anybody else,” Reid said. Being able to say that your team made it to the championship means a lot to the other teams who are competing against the girls. It shows how good the girls are and what they can accomplish in their season, even if they don’t win the last game.

The school gets to go to the games during the school day on a pep bus to go watch and support the girls. ”Playing in the Sweet 16 is always a dream come true. What it does for our community, school, students and program is immeasurable let alone what it means to the players and coaches,” Stallings said. These games are a big way for the school to come and support its teams and also a great way for the Lady Chargers to see how much their community cares about them. The school’s Red Zone Rowdies enjoy being able to show their school spirit and support the Lady Chargers by cheering them on through the games.

Big games like these can put a lot of pressure on the team from their coach, themselves and even the community. The Lady Chargers have to learn how to deal with this pressure together so they can work as a team. ”We’re really close, I’ve never been on a team that close before. Everything we did, we did for each other so when we won we did it together and when we lost we did that together too,” Reid said. Bonding together helped the team understand each other on and off the court so they could have a strong season. Playing well together doesn’t happen without the team learning how to work together on and off the court. The closer the team can be, the easier it is for them to understand each other when they play. the State Championship to Sacred Heart, making it that far into the games is a huge accomplishment for the girls. Each girl had their own goals for the season and where they wanted the team to make it to. The team had to use their personal goals to work together and decide what they needed to work on for the team. “We just did what we had to do for what we practiced on and then also

Before the championship games, the team had some struggles throughout their season but were able to work through it. The Lady Chargers started preparing for these games at the beginning of their season and as their season led to these games, they learned what they needed to improve on so they were ready for these big games. ”I think there were a few really defining moments for the transition points of our season. When we lost in the Christmas Tournament to Sacred Heart, that was just a big thing that really made us think about why we had lost the game up to that point. That made us realize the room for improvement we needed and how much closer we had to grow as a team in order to be successful,” Reid said. Focusing on what they needed to improve on helped push the team to finish strong with their last games.

33-5 Win-loss

Egan said. Many players, especially the seniors, have stepped up to be able to push the team into their accomplishing season and keep the team focused on the goals for the season.

The team might have had a strong season this year but there is the issue of losing strong players for their next season. The Lady Chargers will be losing strong senior players who know the team well and bring the points that the team needed during the games they played. “We realize any program that loses 7 seniors is up against it but we are excited to get started on next year. It should be exciting, we have players coming back with experience that will have to do more and different things,” Stallings said. The other Lady Chargers that aren’t leaving are preparing to step up for the next season and hope to have another year where they make it to the Sweet 16 games again.

2382 Team Points

1267 Team Rebounds

Making it to the Sweet 16 games can be hard work for the girls but they’ve done it before in previous seasons. The last time they made it to the games, the pandemic ended the season, but this was the year where it was back to normal for the girls. “We’ve worked so hard for this season to go to the Sweet 16 back to back years so it was just really great being able to make it that far, showing all our hard work paid off,” senior Gracie Merkle said. Merkle has been playing basketball since sixth grade and she plays center. Although the Lady Chargers lost in the final round of got my team hype so we’re ready to go,” Merkle said. The girls made sure they were focused on their goals for the team which would lead to the championship games. Without a focus for the team, it would be hard for the Lady Chargers to make it as far as they did through their season and be as successful as they were. “I think the seniors do a good job of leading by example. Just working really hard and bringing energy to the team that allows the team to grow and all have energy,”

The Lady Chargers have learned to work hard to become a successful team who can work together and win their games. This year, the girls had to push through injuries and games lost earlier in the season but they were still able to make the most of the rest of their games and do the best they can. ”I think all of us stepped up and played our best and even though we didn’t win in the end, we made history that’s never been done before,” Reid said. Losing to Sacred Heart was something the girls wished they could have changed for the last game, but they don’t regret how they played or how the season ended. It didn’t end like they thought it would, but they had a strong season and were able to learn how to push through when problems arose. Next season, they are preparing to make it through the championship and win the last game together to do what they’ve never done before.