The Warsaw, Tippecanoe Valley and Manchester girls basketball teams experienced that sting in the past few days.
Warsaw fell to Elkhart Central in a sectional semifinal Saturday, while Valley and Manchester were defeated, respectively, by West Noble and Oak Hill in sectional title games Monday.
For the seniors, that’s it. They’ve played great basketball and can hold their heads high, but it may take a few days or even a week for the wound of defeat to heal.
You know what? That’s OK. They have a right to mourn their season and high school basketball careers after all the effort they’ve put in.
And yet, for the others, greatness is on the horizon. All three programs have a reason to already be excited about the 2019-20 basketball season, because all three have so many players returning.
Take a look at Warsaw. The Lady Tigers lose two seniors: star guard Maddie Ryman and sharpshooter Halle Shipp.
While Warsaw will certainly miss those two, they return five players who have had valuable starting minutes.
Junior Kaylee Patton’s knee injury was certainly not good for her nor her team, but it allowed others to get experience on the hardwood.
Hopefully, Patton will be back to full strength well before basketball season – she also is a stellar soccer goalkeeper – and Warsaw will be able to benefit from her offensive prowess.
The Lady Tigers also have a three-point threat in freshman Kacilyn Krebs and a low-post force in freshman Abby Sanner.
Not to mention Kensie Ryman, who shared the backcourt with her big sister, and Brielle Harrison, who was also strong in the post this season.
Reserves Kendall Wayne and Audrey Grimm each got more time as the season went on, and will surely provide valuable minutes next year.
Valley also has reason to be excited. Yes, they will have a huge hole to fill in the loss of Sophie Bussard, the all-around superstar and future Division I basketball player who attracted defenders like a picnic does flies.
They’ll also lose senior Kennedie Brooks, but they still return four starters.
That includes Sidney Wagner, who matched Bussard’s total of 15 points Monday.
Also returning are Jillian Walls and Emma Craig, who proved in multiple games they can be scoring threats, and Makenzie Woodcox and Hayley Backus, who gained worthwhile experience in the paint this season.
While they lose more than Warsaw and Valley, Manchester still has a few key returners for next season.
Gone will be Kennedy Fierstos, who set the program’s all-time three-point record, as well as starters Jirni Cripe and Kennidy Lauer and reserve Emma West.
Still, Eva Bazzoni will return. The sophomore helped take the load off of Fierstos’ shoulders this year, and will have two full years left to continue to grow her skill set.
Also coming back will be junior Kiera Hatfield, who was a solid role player for the Lady Squires and should be able to play a bigger role next season.
All of this not only bodes well for these programs, but their fans as well. Despite having no area teams win a sectional, it was still an enjoyable year for local girls basketball.
Next year could be even better, but only if these returners put in work in the offseason.
While they shouldn’t dwell on these losses in a negative way, they’d be well served to use them as motivation to take home hardware next season.
That goes for all area teams, but especially those with such talent returning.
Cheer up, folks. It’s only nine months until girls basketball starts up again.
