As the Roadrunners are entering into the highly anticipated Spring sports seasons, it is important to not forget about the feats of our winter sports teams. Particularly, the girls basketball season was one filled with many ups and downs.

From the forefront of the season, the team was faced with many challenges that they were determined to overcome. From the get-go, the Lady Roadrunners faced a challenging schedule, as they fought to compete in one of the best conferences in the state of Illinois.

When competing against many high-ranked girls basketball programs, such as Bishop Mcnamara, Bennet Academy, and Marian Catholic, who have all won state championships in the past three years, the Nazareth team did not fail to put up a fight to put numbers on the boards, despite the many players who were inexperienced on the varsity level.

From a player’s standpoint, Rachel Oldendorf says how much fun this season was for her and her teammates. “Obviously our record wasn’t amazing and we did not win as much as we would have liked to, but it was still an amazing season,” she stated.

“My teammates and coach truly made a huge impact on me and I feel like I am not only taking basketball skills from this season, but life skills such as leadership, kindness, and determination.”

As the team was compiled of returning varsity as well as five underclassmen, the returning varsity members took on the responsibility of leading the team throughout the season.

While talking with Head Coach Kim Connell, she displayed an overall positive outlook on the previous season. Connell said if she were to describe the overall season in five words, they would be “ ‘sometimes a prayer will do’…at times we faced situations in which we needed the help, guidance, and support of our ‘6th man’.”

When asked to mention a player that embodied every aspect of teamwork, work ethic, and dedication, Connell did not hesitate to answer: “Abby Shannon would be the player who embodies all of these characteristics. I am so proud of Abby’s determination to be the consummate team player. Nobody works consistently harder than Abby Shannon. She overcame a tough junior season dealing with an ACL recovery to be our team leader in all phases of the game her senior year. I will miss Abby’s determination, never-ending smile, and dedication to her coaches and team.”

From a coach’s perspective, Connell can draw the season to a close by stating that “Every day this season was a combination of successes and challenges … I can say that there was some kind of  ‘highlight’ every practice/every game; from players achieving success to struggling through the lows.”

She continued to say, “I believe the overall highlight of this season was watching each and every player mature and grow together as teammates and friends – we enjoyed the successes and we powered through the lows, but we did them both together. Going into the 2015-2016 season, I knew we would have a combination of young players, inexperienced varsity players, and returning varsity players.  The goal was always to be competitive each game, even through a grueling conference schedule.”

Coach Connell concluded with a sense of pride in the team stating, “I can honestly say that the girls never backed down from a challenged and we remained competitive until the very end.  This particular team has heart and that is something you cannot teach.”