Within the program, there has not been much talk for Lumberton to get back to the state championship.
That’s because there isn’t much need for it, with an experienced team just two points away from a state title. The Lady Panthers are back on track for a championship run after making quick work of Sacred Heart in a 54-20 victory to clinch their 13th win in the last 14 games.
The Lady Panthers, which are ranked No. 5 in Class 1A, lost just one starter from last year’s team that fell to Biggersville, which makes them instant contenders this season.
“We try to keep it one day at a time and take it one game at a time so we can make sure that we stay focused,” Lumberton coach Brennan Kuehl said. “When you come up that short from a state championship, and you’ve got the majority of the locker room that was there, then it’s on everybody’s mind. We do think about it, but we just keep it one game at a time, but it is on everybody’s mind.”
Despite Lumberton having a new coach at the helm, is no stranger to the standard that surrounds the Lady Panthers basketball program.
“I felt prepared for it, and I felt ready,” Kuehl said. “I wanted to keep it going in the same direction, obviously. The expectations are really high having four starters back, but I’ve been the junior high coach for the last three years, so I’m familiar with all of the players. They all know me; I was their coach in junior high. It wasn’t like it was too drastic of a change. I learned a lot in the last three years from Coach (Jay) Lofton. I definitely felt prepared to keep going where things left off.”
In Tuesday’s game, experience helped Lumberton (16-4, 5-1) build a 30-5 lead with two minutes left in the first half. In the second half, Kuehl made it a point to give his bench experience and work on halfcourt execution.
“We knew that we were a stronger team,” Kuehl said. “We were wanting to on halfcourt execution. If you want to get far in the playoffs, you have to be able to score at the half-court.”
Lumberton’s Kali Chavis led the Lady Panthers with 21 points, 17 of which came in the first quarter.
“We’ve had several games where different people have stepped up,” Kuehl said. “Now that we have everybody and are at full strength, it just depends on the matchups, like if we need to go inside, push it more, or get out in transition. Kali and Jayla have been really consistent for us, and we know that we can count on them.”
Notably, Sacred Heart (1-13, 1-5) was led by Madelyn Beasley, who scored 13 points.
Lumberton will host Enterprise on Friday, while the Lady Crusaders will go on the road to face East Marion.
“I hope things can go well,” Kuehl said. “The girls are confident in themselves. They are confident in me, and I’m confident in them.”
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