Lady Bears Ranked No. 1 in the Conference

The varsity Lady Bears have fought their way to an impressive position at this point in the season. Ranked number 1 in their conference, the girls from Willow Springs have yet to lose a game in the SCA. 

The team has won all five of their SCA games this season. There are only two conference games left this season: Houston and Mountain View. After a 43 to 36 win against Mansfield on Friday night, the team is 17 and 5 for the season overall. The Lady Bears have their eyes locked on the conference title and are hoping to play at districts. 

 

Coach Judy Tilley credits the team’s success to their cohesion. They started out the season working together well, she said, "Now we’re playing even better together. They all have the same goal: let’s finish what they started.”

Effective defense has been the key to most of the Lady Bears’ wins this season. Coach Tilley reported that the games the team has lost this year have been those in which their opponents scored more than 50 points in a game, which is certainly a high-scoring game in girls' basketball. 

 

“That’s the magic number,” said Coach Tilley, “Anytime we can keep 'em under that 50, our offense will take over.”

Though their teamwork has been indispensable, Coach Tilley did acknowledge individual players for what they bring to the court. Ashlyn Jones has been a very valuable offensive player. In this season’s game against Ava on January 14, Jones tied the school record for the number of three-point shots in one game. She sank seven threes during that game. 

“She was on fire that night,” said Coach Tilley.

“All these kids do special things,” she continued, also mentioning contributions from Keena Lowe, Liz Sheehan, and Chloe Chafin. 

“I still will lean on Alyssa VonAllmen. She has been a leader on and off the court,” said Coach Tilley. 

“[The girls] put in the work in the summer. This time of year it pays off,” she said. 

Coach Tilley invites the community to come out to watch the girls play. Their last home game of the season was on Monday, but they will play an SCA game against the Lady Liberty Eagles in Mountain View on Thursday.