This year was the first time in school history that the Lady Tigers won sectionals. Following their win, at sectionals, the girl’s basketball team played against Bedford North Lawrence in their first-ever state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 25.

   “We wanted to win,” Junior Morgan Roberts said. “We made history and were determined to win it all.”

    The Lady Tigers fought to keep the game close until the end but ended up losing 46-42. Roberts ended the game happy with what the team put on the court and proud of their historic season. 

    “There’s nothing else better in the world than being able to play on the big stage with your supporters and family,” Roberts said, “It was our dream becoming a reality.”

    Sophomore Allison Scheu dedicated the team’s performance to the relationship between the girls. The team was connected by trust and confidence in each other. 

    “There is constant positive energy when we are together and that kept us on the right track,” Scheu said. “We knew that, no matter what, we had each other.”

    While Scheu pointed to the connection of the players, Roberts highlighted the team’s drive, and hunger to beat the odds, in order to continue to fight on the court. The Lady Tigers were not predicted to win their sectional game, which they had already proven wrong. This intensified their will to finish out the season as hard as they could. 

    “We were at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, in front of the biggest crowd that Fishers girl’s basketball has ever seen,” Roberts said. “Especially for the state championship game, we were not going to sit and watch, we were chasing a dream.” 

    The team had been determined to go to state since the pre-season started. Roberts said that the team “always talked about how this was our year.” They set a goal early and fought to make it happen. In order to do that, they had to push themselves through the state game.

    “If we were feeling tired, or down, it didn’t matter because each of us wanted to keep going for the team’s sake,” Scheu said. 

    Roberts highlighted the impact that the seniors made on the team this year. She credits them with creating the family environment that stuck throughout the season. Last year, the girl’s basketball team consisted of no seniors, no one left the team at the end of the season. That meant this year the family bond was stronger and the goodbye would be harder. 

    “It was so hard to believe that it was over,” Roberts said. “It was the last game that I would ever play with the seniors and I never thought that it would hit me so hard. [This has been] a season that no one will forget has ended