by Perri Williams  ‘23

Senior Michelle Winters shooting a power ball in the game against Northwood. Photo by Sherwood Athletics

After their blowout win in the first round of playoffs against Northwood, up next was regional rival Blake. The Warriors lost two painstakingly close games to the Bengals in the regular season. Nevertheless, the Warriors came into the game with newfound confidence after their stronger second half of their season. 

“It’s not about the way you start the season, because we started the season with no coach [because of Covid-19], were 0-5, but then we built our record and ended up with a pretty good seed going into playoffs,” said junior guard Julia Peffer. 

The first quarter was full of a lot of back and forth between the two teams, ending with a 10-7 lead for Blake. The Warriors found their rhythm in the second quarter, fighting their way back to take the lead 19-18 at halftime. The third quarter continued with the teams going back and forth. The Warriors would score and the Bengals would come right back.  Things began to turn when Blake started hitting threes. Sherwood looked frazzled as Blake’s lead grew to 8 with three minutes left in the game. With a minute left in the game and the Warriors down 16, the team celebrated a positive moment when senior center Michelle Winter made a three point shot as the final shot of her Sherwood basketball career. It was a bittersweet moment as the team ran onto the court to embrace her and then console each other that the season was over. 

“Through the season I learned that it’s definitely more than a game, and we’ve become a family throughout the whole season,” said  sophomore guard Taylor Corrothers.  “It’s about overcoming the lows rather than only having highs.”