Shooting for the Stars: Girls Varsity Basketball

This season, our 2023 Varsity Girls Basketball team played to the best of their abilities, ending the season with a regional record of 8-2 and an overall record of 15-12. The season started strong with a win against Ridgeland, 61-47. Unfortunately, the Generals fought hard but fell in the next four matches to Coahulla Creek (42-34), Murray County (64-38), Lakeview Fort-Oglethorpe (46-34), and Dalton (59-36). The Generals mounted a comeback, though, beating both Christian Heritage (55-47) and local rival Ringgold (43-36). Despite two subsequent losses to North Murray (42-40) and Murray County (46-44), the Generals continued to hone their skills, putting them to good use as they demolished Central Carrollton (36-28) and Cedartown (65-10). Coach Elkins pointed to the two Murray County games as “the turning point of [the] season.” “We lost on a last second shot against North Murray and the very next night we lost on another last second shot against Murray County,” he said.

“That was a tough moment for this team, and I think the players really could have folded up and let the season get away from us. Instead, they showed a lot of maturity and returned to practice with determination to improve.” The Generals’ next match-up, after winning against Central and Cedartown, ended in a loss to NW Whitfield (49-44), but that didn’t stop our Generals from getting back up for a remarkable seven-game win streak. The Generals faced off against several schools they’d already encountered, besting Christian Heritage (64-47), SE Whitfield (51-29), Sonoraville (46-40), Central Carrollton (36-28), Cedartown (73-27), NW Whitfield (48-40), and, lastly, SE Whitfield (54-21). The regular season came to an end with a loss to Sonoraville (47-38), a win against Central (49-30), and a loss to NW Whitfield (39-36). The Generals finished as the #1 seed for the regular season and finished in second at the region tournament, making it to the State playoffs. There, the Generals won their first round game against North Hall, 48-40. The Generals made it to the Sweet 16, where they lost to Holy Innocents, 79-42. Reflecting on the season, Coach Elkins noted that he had “never had a team this young and it was a unique coaching/teaching experience for me individually.” Coach Elkins also described the season as “one of the most fulfilling seasons for me as a coach.”