RM girls basketball secured the 4A North II regional championship after beating Paint Branch High School 55-41 on March 6, just one day after the boys team captured their own title. The last time RM won the regional championship was in 1996, the same year the team earned their first state title. The Rockets took the first step in recreating the historic 1996 season by winning the regional title.
Heading into the championship game, the team embraced the pressure as they looked to make the most out of the opportunity, together as a team. After ending the 2022-2023 season with a playoff loss to Churchill, the team had been putting in tremendous amounts of hard work during the offseason to get back to the very top. The teams grit and determination throughout the summer and fall can be equated to the teams successful 2023-2024 campaign thus far.
“I think the main message from everyone was that we believe in this team. We’ve seen all the work they’ve put in and we are confident that they are ready for the big moments,” Assistant Coach Samantha Griffin said.
After a slow start to the game with Paint Branch scoring a few points early on, RM utilized their time in the second half as they ramped up the offense. In what was first a close game was then a show of skill from sophomore Katie Diao and senior Joy Dau. Diao, the team’s leading point scorer, put up an impressive 23 points. These individuals, along with team efforts, helped the Rockets edge away from the Panthers to cement their monumental victory.
“I had confidence in my team and my team really picked it up and gave me really good passes, which I could shoot for three,” Diao said. “I just had a lot of confidence in the work I’ve been putting in for the past year.”
The team’s win on Wednesday moves the team to 18-4 which is an improvement from last year’s 16-5 record. In efforts to continue their impressive postseason run, the team plans on making some corrections ahead of the state quarterfinal game. They look to play at a high intensity throughout the whole game, putting on a dominant performance from buzzer to buzzer.
“We have to play defense for the full 30 seconds and finish it with a rebound,” Coach Griffin said. “We have to sprint our lanes in transition and be the first to every loose ball. We can’t take anything for granted and every possession matters.”
RM enters the state tournament as the sixth seed where they will travel to Clarksburg HS to take on the Coyotes in the state quarterfinals on March 9. The team looks to continue their historic postseason run.
“After the game, everyone was really enthusiastic and relieved to have won and make more history as a team,” senior captain Emma Karlin said. “We’re celebrating the win for the first day, and then it’s back to work to prepare for the state quarterfinals.”
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