St. Marys chemistry is formula for success

Lima News photo by John Hullinger
The St. Marys girls basketball team takes a 20-game win streak into tonight's Division II district game against Ottawa-Glandorf at Liberty-Benton. |
By JOHN HULLINGER • jhullinger@limanews.com • 419-993-2088
ST. MARYS - The laughter is contagious, as most genuine laughter is. Eight girls huddle at center court, awaiting the start of practice. There is no bickering, no infighting, no jealousy, just the sort of bubbly enthusiasm that comes from a 20-game win streak. Their leader, an all-stater who could have easily made this her year to shine, instead leads by example, making her less experienced teammates fell like, well, teammates. St. Marys girls basketball coach Bruce Brown minces no words when summing up the Roughriders improbable 20-1 record. "The two things that have made this team successful are the fact that they play together as a team and the fact that they play extremely hard. I think they learned both of those traits from our two seniors," Brown said. "Liz Krugh is the ultimate team player. She came back as an all-state player and could have really tried to overdo her role, but knew exactly what it took for our team to win and has shown all the underclassmen what it means to be a team player. "Amanda Clark has been our leader as far as showing them how to play hard and playing with intensity. I think the younger girls have just picked up the lead those two have given them." St. Marys wasn't supposed to be a leading contender in the Western Buckeye League race. With only one returning starter (Krugh) and only two returning letter winners (Clark and sophomore Krissy Haines), it looked to be a rebuilding year for the Roughriders. It certainly started out like one. St. Marys dropped its season opener 57-51 at Fort Recovery. Then it started. A three-point win over Defiance at home, three straight victories on the road, including a 10-point win over perennial powerhouse Ottawa-Glandorf, and the next thing they knew the Roughriders had gone 9-0 in the ultra-competitive WBL. "Everybody's picked us to lose almost every game we've played so far," Krugh said. "I think people still think we aren't going to get as far, but I think we can. "We've got to play hard though. We can lose at any time. We all know we're picked to lose a lot. I think it's kind of better that way, being underdogs. There's not that much pressure and we're not cocky." A strong chemistry has developed along the way. From basketball to the occasional paintball fight, the players have become inseparable. "It comes from the seniors," Brown said. "They are unbelievable leaders. Liz and Amanda are just doing a tremendous job of making sure our team gets along, making sure everybody understands what it takes to win." Said Clark: "Everybody gets along and we never fight with each other. It's fun." Krugh, now in her fourth year on the varsity squad, says this team is closer than in past years. "We get along so well off the court. We've never had a team like that," she said. "Everybody gets along. Nobody's complaining and we're all good friends." Good friends with a tough tournament road ahead. The Roughriders opened the postseason by drubbing Shawnee 86-32 to win a Division II sectional title. Now they head to the Liberty-Benton district tournament, a bracket laden with the best in the WBL. St. Marys faces Bath tonight and could very well run into a steadily improving and very talented O-G squad in the district final. With all their success, the Roughriders are wearing a bull's-eye in the postseason. "People are going to expect us to do good and that puts a lot of pressure on us," Clark said. "People expect a lot out of us now." Said Brown: "Anytime you win 20 in a row and are league champions, especially in the tournament where it's all league schools, everybody's going to be out to get us. "The girls know that and I think they'll compete and play hard. There's a chance we may lose in the tournament. But that's not going to take away from anything they've accomplished so far." He continued, "For us, it makes it more challenging because we are the league champions. Obviously, teams like Ottawa-Glandorf and Bath and all those teams we might run into have a little extra incentive going up against the league champions." League champions who are having a really good time.
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