On Saturday, February 10th, the OPH Lady Wildcats played their final game of the season at regionals. OPH traveled to Marshall to play against the Lions. OPH ultimately came up short in the end, but the girls played the best they possibly could.

Before OPH left for Marshall, they met at Palestine Grade School to have a team breakfast and shoot around. Coach Devin thought that this would be a good team bonding moment and allow the girls to be fully awake before they had to travel on the bus. Jennifer, Coach Devin’s wife, made delicious biscuits and gravy for everyone to enjoy. Everyone on the team appreciates the time and resources that Jennifer has dedicated to the team throughout the season.

Once OPH arrived at Marshall, they would get warmed up for their big game. When the time came Genna Kidwell, Maggie Bailey, Alyssa Tipton, Marissa Neeley, and Ginna Russell took the court to start the game.

Marshall got an early lead during the first few minutes of the first quarter, but OPH wasn’t too far behind. In the second quarter, Marshall added on to their lead while OPH was stuck in a bit of a scoring drought. After halftime, things didn’t get any better for the OPH girls. The final score of the game ended up being 28-59. For the entire game, Marshall double teamed Genna Kidwell, which forced the other four players to play against the three other players. Although it seems like it would be an advantage to basically play 4-on-3, the OPH girls just could not get their shots to fall in the basket.

While it was a sad loss for everyone, the seniors had more of a hard time dealing with it. Four seniors played in the final game and two seniors that were not able to play due to previous injuries. No matter if they played or not, for all six seniors it was an emotional end to their season and career. All of the players will always remember the memories that were made this season.

Thank you to Devin Turner, Ryan Kidwell, Hayden Johnson, and Ryan Kubiak for making this season one to remember for all players. Every girl on the team appreciates everything that they have done for us, and they learned a lot from this season. They could not have had a better coaching staff to help guide them.