With a heartbreaking loss  to Homewood-Flossmore in the Sectional Semi-Finals, the Lincoln-Way Central Girls Basketball season has come to a conclusion. While this outcome was not what the Knights had hoped for, the success of the team this season is well worth a standing ovation.

With a record of 24–10 and 8-0 conference record, the team improved greatly throughout the year winning 11 straight games going into Sectionals and defeating rival Lincoln-Way teams East and West a combined 3 times. The leadership from seniors Keira Hunt, Annalina Nelson, Azyah Newson-Cole, Olivia Rafalski, and Nicole Jancaric, propelled the Knights forward all season long with support from core juniors, Gracen Gehrke, Gianna Amadio, Lina Panos, and Christina Swaiss.  And the young sophomores Kiya Newson-Cole, Brooke Baechtold, Madi Watt, and Abby Sudkamp, contributed to the Knights’ success all season long.

This combination of teamwork and talent helped the Knights to a Conference championship win and their second consecutive Regional Title in a convincing win over the Griffins of Lincoln-Way East. The Knights had many individual spectacular highlights throughout the season like Azyah Newson-Cole scoring her 1,000th high school basketball point; Gracen Gehrke scoring a buzzer beater 3 to force overtime at Lincoln-Way East leading to an overtime win; and Lina Panos pushing through a torn ACL to help the Knights conclude the back half of the season in a positive way. In an interview with junior Gianna Amadio, she says, “We’re a very close team and that helped us to get as far as we did this season. Our team chemistry was a big factor, we’re all best friends.” When asked about her favorite memory from this season she said, “winning Regionals was the best part of the year!”

The Knights had a season to remember and celebrate and they look to come back stronger next year with many key returners.