WEST SIDE GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM COMPETE FOR 4A STATE TITLE

Photos and text

by

Jerome Lee

Gary-Gary’s West Side Girls Basketball coach Rodney Fisher have seven good reasons to be proud these days. His team is composed of “The Magnificent Seven”, with six seniors and one junior girl on the squad, they stand ready to challenge for a state title. The basic starting unit rotation for the team consist of seniors Isabell Rhenurick, Michell Hamblin, Ashley Gates, Shanee Butler, Ashley Cheairs, Farren Congress, and junior Erica Simpson.

The West Side Girls record is 23-4 as they go to Conseco Fieldhouse on March 5 to play Indianapolis North Central for the Girl’s 4A State Championship. The four losses were to Chesterton in the final of the Big 8 Shootout in Lafayette, 39-52; East Chicago Central,

46-63; Ft. Wayne Harding 52-58; and South Bend St. Joseph, 67-80.

Altheria Sweezer, Cougar statistician and scorekeeper said the girls are longtime friends. She said, “The Cougar’s seniors have played together since elementary school. They competed against each other in squad games between elementary schools, when boys and girls played on the same teams. But they would meet up in the summer as teammates in AAU competition.”

Sweezer said it has been 12 years since the West Side Girl’s team has advanced beyond the regional’s. It was 1993 when they last went to semi-state.

West Side was nearly out of all of their allotment of 1,400 tickets for Saturday’s girls Class 4A state title game against North Central. Those tickets were gone in one day, and the IHSAA are expected to be called today for second batch of tickets.

The process consists of letting the ISHAA know that you have run out of tickets, and finding out how many more tickets they will be allotted. Then the ISHAA and West Side officials will meet halfway in Lafayette to exchange another bunch of tickets.

The fast selling tickets did not come as a surprise to Betty Todd, West Side Athletic Director for the past six years. She went through a similar scenario with fans and family wanting to support the semistate champion in 2002, when the boys squad won the state title.

School spirit at West Side is at an all time high with posters and banners flowing throughout the hallways and classrooms showing support for the Lady Cougars basketball team.

As the West Side Girl’s basketball team ended practice by shooting free throws and running laps on this past Monday in preparation with their match up against Indianapolis North Central, this writer wishes the team success in trying to achieve the quest for being the best that you can be.