MUSKEGON, Mich. -- The Oakridge girls basketball team has gone 14-0 in the West Michigan conference for the last five years.
Junior captain Sophia Wiard said it's something they don't take lightly. "It`s a big deal. It`s a great accomplishment and it`s great to keep the streak alive for the players that started it in the beginning."
Coach Terry DeJonge added that the streak is not their main focus. "The number one goal is always to win the West Michigan conference. It always has been for my 16 years. So the streak is nice, but the concentration and the motivation is not on keeping the streak, not for me. It`s about the next opponent and then trying to win the conference out of 14 games."
Next up, the Lady Eagles are hoping for a district and even regional title.
Junior Jenna Lowry smiled at the thought. "It would mean a lot. We`re a small team so I think getting up there and winning. It would shock everybody."
But Coach DeJonge reminds his team to remember the process. "When you talk about regionals and anything like that those are just things that are out in the future hopefully to grasp but to dwell on those things would be missing out on what it takes to get there."
One of the Lady Eagles helping them get there is junior Sophia Wiard, who will be playing her college career at Toledo.
"Soph is a great leader," Lowry said. "She takes me in, tells me what to do and helps me out. She`s not like one of those ball hog passers, she looks for teammates and makes sure we all feel safe and nice and everything."
And her Coach thinks she is destined for greatness things. "I believe she`s one of the best point guards in the country... and now it`s just a matter of hopefully we can get hot at the right time and Sophie is gonna get other involved because she`s so unselfish and she`s a team player first and foremost."
