The sound of a screeching whistle and squeaking shoes fill the gym. Players’ bodies clash into one another as the ball makes its way up and down the court. Parents and fans cheer from the stands and watch as the Ladykats make their first district win. After the game, the locker room is full of cheering girls as they douse the coach in water.

The varsity girls basketball team played The Woodlands Highlanders on Tuesday Jan. 11 and won their first district game of the season. 

“We lost the Conroe game but I’m still very proud of us because we worked so hard until the very end, even if the score didn’t reflect that,” senior Ainsley Patrick said. “The Woodlands was the first time ever that we beat a 6A team. We have put so much time and effort in to become a 6A competitor and it was genuinely the best feeling. I’m so proud of all of the girls in the program and how far we’ve come. Now we’re just concentrating on getting ready for the second round of district.”

The ladykats did their best to come out on top with a win and they were thrilled to not only have made their first district win, but to have beat one of their toughest competitors.

“During the game it was nothing but excitement,” senior Kylie Santore said. “We were down most of the game but we came back and it was just a great rush of  excitement and joy. We’re hoping to make the playoffs and I know we can do it because our district is pretty close and no one has expected us to come out the way we do because most of our games are back and forth.”

The big win against the Highlanders boosted the Ladykats morale and is going to push them through the rest of the season.

“When we beat the woodlands we gave the players high fives and ran as fast as we could to the locker room,” sophomore Elle Wienecke said. “We were all screaming because we were so happy and I think some of us honestly didn’t think we could come out of district with a win this year. It was just unreal and gave us so much hope.”

The Ladykats are excited to move forward after this win and ready to beat their competitors. 

“I think we are pretty well prepared now that we’ve played every school once,” senior Izzy Gonzales said. “We are now switching to Wednesday Saturday games and we are playing Conroe this Thursday to start off the second round of district. I’m expecting that we finish on top of the second round of  district and hopefully clinch a spot into the playoffs.” 

After making such a big win, the girls had to celebrate each other and their coach. It was an experience that they all enjoyed and will cherish. 

  “When we got to the locker room we were so hyped up and came up with the idea to use the little water that was left in our water bottles and pour it on Coach when she walked in,” sophomore Elle Wienecke said. We got super quiet and waited for a couple minutes, and we actually had a couple false alarms, but when she finally came in we drenched her with the water and we were all jumping up and down and screaming, and it was the best feeling ever. Coach told us how proud she was to be our coach and talked about how far we’ve come since the season started. Then after she left we played music and had so many laughs. That’s probably a night I won’t forget anytime soon.”