CONRAD – The Rocky Boy girls basketball team is your Distirct 1B champion after defeating Fairfield 57-37 on Saturday. It’s the first-ever district championship for the program.
“It’s so great to finally accomplish a goal that we made in the beginning of the season,” said Rocky Boy senior Jaylynn Mitchell. “It’s one of the main things all of us worked for. We worked hard every day for it and it felt so great to finally come. I believe in this team strongly, we all cooperate well, we all play with harmony on the court. It’s great being a part of that team.”
After the team’s accomplishment, coach Cameron McComerick motivated his team by telling them about a powerful story from the ancient texts.
“He actually told us a story about a giant, because last year when we played Fairfield, he’s trying to talk about Beowulf and Grendel,” said Mitchell. “That’s how he gets us pumped up, is stories about fairy tales, how the champion overcomes or how the person overcomes the monster.”
“That dates back to a year ago when, of course, the eventual state champion Fairfield, to us, was like a giant,” said McComerick. “Maybe spiritually and emotionally, more so than physically, but it seemed like we couldn’t overcome them. With that in mind, I shared the story of the ancient times of David and Goliath, the ancient text. For us, to overcome a dynasty such as Fairfield with coach (Dustin) Gordon, it’s a breakthrough.”
The girls team came so close last year to making it to the state tournament but fell at the doorstep. That’s been major motivation this time around. This team is determined, and big things might still be on the horizon for the Morning Stars.
“We really set our standards high. We come to practice 30 minutes earlier because we know how it felt last year to be only two points shy of state. That hurts us, every day that hurts us, so this year we’ve got to push it harder,” said Mitchell.
“It’s been a struggle, but they’ve really bought in to my system that I’m operating and they’re trying to put in place. That buy-in has carried us through some tough times and that’s the result of what you see on the court,” said McComerick. “It’s been a long two years. This game just made every sacrifice worth it. It’s a great bunch of young ladies, I just hope I’m making an impact on their lives. If we can right this momentum, I think it’ll be a storybook ending for the Morning Stars.”
