MOUNT ORAB, Ohio — There are plenty of smiles around the Western Brown High School girls basketball program this week.
“This has kind of been a dream season,” Western Brown coach Tim Chadwell said.
Western Brown (22-2) plays Tipp City Tippecanoe (22-2) in a Division III district final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lakota West.
Western Brown, the No. 1 seed in the Southwest District South bracket, is seeking the program’s first district championship since 1994 and the second overall in team history.
“It would mean everything to us,” said sophomore J. Jenike.
Western Brown, which has set a single-season program record for wins (22), has several key players including Jenike, who averages 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 3.3 assists. Jenike shoots better than 89% from the free-throw line, too.
“It’s just so fun being with my teammates and honestly just working hard together to be where we are right now in this position,” Jenike said.
Senior Peyton Butler averages 10.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. She said the Western Brown team is like a family.
“We’ll go in the locker room and listen to music and get excited and pumped for our game,” Butler said. “We just all get along so well. That feels really good.”
Junior Aubrey Schaffner (10.3 ppg., and 7.4 rpg.) and junior Madilyn Ruby (9.5 ppg., and 4.6 rpg.) are among other statistical leaders.
Western Brown, a district runner-up a season ago, has won 12 consecutive games since a two-point loss at Goshen Jan. 8.
“The years of experience have really shown,” Chadwell said. “They’ve matured and they’ve gotten better.”
Chadwell is proud of the team even beyond the basketball court.
“They’re very personable and they’re leaders in the school,” Chadwell said. “They work hard. They like to be successful and they’re used to that. They come from great families. The wins are just kind of a bonus.”
Butler said the Western Brown community support has been significant, too.
“We usually have a lot of people at our games and during tournaments I feel like we’ll have a whole bunch,” Butler said.
Jenike said the team believes it has the potential for a deep postseason run.
“We’re really talented,” Jenike said. “We have every piece. I think that we can really go far. I truly believe that we can.”
