This is the life!

I so deeply enjoy what I do. I have the rare opportunity to teach young ladies about something they have a passion for being good at. As a teacher, I find it difficult to find the same enthusiasm for teaching run-on sentence corrections or about the elements of fiction. So, having the ability to escape to the comfort of the gymnasium with 10 of the coolest, most unique chicks I know, is truly a gift. When it gets to this point in the season, some teams can become exhausted and ready for the season to end. Well, with the adversity, injuries and hiccups we've had this season, I'm happy to say we're feeling just the opposite. There is a sense of urgency in the gym the last couple of days and all I have to say, Statesmen fans, is make sure you don't have plans for next Friday. Ya dig?!?!

We "wear our sunglasses at night"...Oh, Lane-oh.

We finally got our entire team back to "healthy" on Friday. Needless to say, we were a bit shaky, but we pulled out the W against Parkway Central to finish 4-2 for the conference standings. Jordan was our leading scorer-yes, folks, she's back.
Anyway, Friday night also marked the last regular season home game, which means we celebrated our seniors. Any good celebration comes with food, right? Well, we shared pizza and cake with our basketball families, cheerleaders and coaches. (Shout out to Sarah Unger for helping coordinate this for us!) It is a special time to recollect on the seniors' four years of growth and dedication to the Statesmen basketball program. Thank you so much ERIN, ANNIE, MICHAELA and LANE!

Seniors: Katherine (manager), Michaela Booker, Erin Reynolds, Lane Holden and Annie Paloucek. LOVE THEM!

With a couple of days of extra shooting and practice under our belts as a full squad, we're confident that our team is going to be poised, focused and ready to face Ursuline on Monday at 4:30. We're going to take our knowledge, heart and competitive drive to the court to show EVERYONE what we've been working so hard to accomplish all season.

We're done with the lectures...now it is time to pass the big tests! GO WGHS!

One last note...

• Jordan Thompson was named the Conference PLAYER OF THE YEAR!
• Erin Reynolds was named First Team All-Conference
• Abbie and Annie Paloucek were named 2nd Team All-Conference
• Michaela Booker was named Honorable Mention All-Conference

GREAT JOB, LADIES!

A temporary look for our team...

Anyone close to the team right now knows what happened in our Winter Webster Challenge (does that feel like AGES ago to anyone else?) so I'm not even going to mention it. What we can all agree with, is that we look a bit different as of late. Happily, we're playing hard as a unit. It has been very uplifting to see Morgan step into the point guard role, handling the ball and leading the team.

This appears to be a foul, but no one asked my opinion.

Our first game with this temporary look was ugly. Rockwood got us on a night that we certainly were not at our best. Simply put...U.G.L.Y. We'll leave it at that. With that loss, our team's energy was renewed and pride was more evident than ever. We played at Parkway North the very next night and got a much needed W!

Last Friday was a big day for us. Our day began with the preschool students at the Early Childhood Center. The girls read to several classrooms and shared with the young Webster fans how to say, "GO STATESMEN!" It was an amazing experience for everyone and we look forward to hanging out with our new friends very soon!

Morgan reading to the AWESOME students at the ECEC.

As you can see, we were all very into our books! Way to go, Miriam!

Friday evening, we took on our rival Kirkwood. Despite playing our hearts out, we didn't have the result we were hoping for. The crowd was great though, and the energy was high, and we know, that with a different look on a different night, we would have been happier with the result.

Book playing straight up defense.

To begin yet another BUSY week of basketball, we traveled to Jackson (I swear we left the Missouri border somewhere along the way) to take on a pretty good Fighting Indian squad. Again, we had moments of greatness, but a few hiccups that led to big runs. Unfortunately, it didn't end our way, but we were pleased with the effort and identification of players stepping up. KEEP BATTLING, LADIES!

Today, we are taking another road trip to make up our snowed out game at Oakville and Friday is a special night for us to commemorate our seniors. After the varsity game, stick around to enjoy pizza and cake (who can beat FREE cake?) with our program.

Also, in case you hadn't heard, district seeds are set. We will face #5 Ursuline on Monday at 4:30. The winner will take on St. Joe's Tuesday. All games are played at WGHS...FILL THE STANDS WITH BLACK AND ORANGE!