HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: West Delaware girls exceed expectations

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By Maddie Coates, West Delaware seniorMANCHESTER - The West Delaware girls' basketball team had one goal in mind this past season– improvement.Coming off of an 8-15 record from last season, the entire team was prepared to battle for that goal. Ending the season with a 17-6 record, the Hawks finished with the second best record in school history.A winning record doesn't come easy in the game of basketball. It takes numerous hours in the gym, the desire to improve and the will to prepare during the off-season.The Hawks participated in open gyms throughout the summer two times a week.“Some days I work on post moves and other days I work on shooting outside of my range,” junior Kasey Palmer said. “Whenever I am in the gym, I start out by shooting 10 free throws and then I continue with my workout. I finish all my workouts by shooting 15 more free throws.”Every member of the team knew they had to work hard to achieve what they wanted.“As a team we set high goals,” senior Bethany Hahn said. “We wanted to become recognized by other schools as a good basketball team. We wanted to turn the girls' basketball program around. We knew we had the potential to be successful and our hard work in practice paid off.”An improved record was not the only accomplishment for this  team.“We had a winning streak of 11 wins, we became ranked as a team in Class 4A,” McCarty said, “and we beat some highly ranked teams.”Contributing to the team's success were three senior starters - Hahn, Dorise Nagel and McCarty. Together, they couldn't be more proud of how their final year of basketball ended.“We played our hearts out night in and night out,” Nagel said. “We won some big games this season. I couldn't have asked for a better way to finish out my senior basketball season at West Delaware.”Everyone involved with the girls' basketball program was proud of the improvements made this season, especially head coach Harold Shepherd.“We had a great year," he said. "I know I expected us to do this well, but with the great senior leadership, focus on the season, and playing hard with the desire to win, we exceeded expectations.“I shouldn't have been surprised. We have great kids.”