Looking Back:
Lady Cardinals’ Basketball History
Making History: I hope you have been following the 22-23 Lady Cardinal Basketball team. They are one of the scrappiest Cardinal teams I have ever seen. They ended their historic season with a record of 23-6, the most wins in the program’s history. They lost to a very good Nevada team in the District Championship game. The varsity Lady Cards included: Mercedez Brown, Vyla Brown, Skyte Wilson, Briley Wishard, Ava Potter, Hannah Campbell, Allison Cardwell, Allie Goucher, Kathryn Schaffer, and Riley Heerdink (injured). The latest looked at records for the ‘22-’23 squad shows: Most rebounds in a single season with 1059, the most steals in a single season with 364, and the most 3-point baskets with 107. If you like historic stats, I will get you more asap.
Coach Rankings (by wins): Last year the Lady Cards under the direction of first-year coach Stacie Womack, won Districts and had a record of 17-11. In fact, the Lady Cardinals have had only one losing season in the last 11 years. So now, after two years Coach Womack has captured 40 wins. This puts her 5th overall on the all-time win list. The top five ranked coaches are Ron Aldridge (118), David Rogers (62), Josh Dorr (62), Roger Bancroft (41) then Stacie Womack (40). Aldridge, the “God Father” of Lady Card Basketball, collected his wins over 11 seasons. Rogers and Door toiled for four years each and Bancroft was the Lady Cardinal coach for six years. Coach Womack got her 40 wins in only two seasons, so she has a chance to continue her climb up the ladder. Her 22-23 squad will lose three seniors going into next year: Brown, Cardwell, and Campbell. Of course, all the ‘pundits’, including myself, will speculate what the future may hold. The Lady Cardinal assistant coaches are Zach Adams and Jon Eversole.
Coach Rankings (by %): The rankings by ‘winning percentage’ change quickly. Womack jumps to the top with a winning percentage of 70%, followed by Rogers with 61%, Dorr with 60% then Aldridge with 46%. (A minimum of two seasons was required).
Early History: The Lady Cards have had 16 different coaches over their 47 years. This is an average of 2.87 years per coach. Both Aldridge and Bancroft stepped up to the plate on separate occasions. The program started in 1976-77 with Coach Aldridge. The Lady Cards went 13-4 in their first year. In their very first game, they beat Windsor 36-12 with Donna Brock (Mothersbaugh) getting the very first basket. The program got off to a fast start with the first three years yielding a record of 42-19. The 1976 varsity squad consisted of: Donna Brock, Tracy Farrens, Lisa Sunderwirth, Norma Armstrong, and Valerie Brown. The subs for the inaugural year were: Troy Boyle, Sarah and Susan Carter, Karen and Sharon Crayden, Chris Johnson, Brenda Myrhoff, Suzanne Montgomery, Ellen Pyle, Carolyn Ross, Diane Scott, Stacey Sunderwirth, Debbie Trager, and Julie Wall. The Lady Cardinal’s first coach, Ron Aldridge is also well known for coaching track.
The Good/Bad Years: The Lady Cards have broken the 17-win mark five times; 1982-83, 2013-14, ‘20-’21, ‘21-’22, & ‘22-’23. They won the Conference title in ‘83, ‘14, ‘21, & “23. They have won the District title two times, in 2014 & 2022. Adding to the trophy case the Lady Cards have won the Clinton Invitational five times; ‘13, ’16, ’21, ‘22, & ‘23. The Bad: The Lady Cards have had some really tough stretches. In fact, the program’s full record is 451-709 which is 39%. But, since the ‘12-’13 season the Lady Cards have been 171-117. Let’s hope it continues.
Ranked Players: The Lady Cards have had many fine players over the years. Following is a ranking of some of the Lady Cardinal basketball players. I used every statistical category I could pin down. Feel free to disagree with me. These Lady Cards are all very good. #1 Mia Mills, #2 Donna Brock, #3 Lauren Abernathy, #4 Laurel Dehn, #5 Lori Bancroft, #6 Sarah Thomason, #7 Riley Cook, #8 Carmen Seider, #9 Maddie Huffmaster, #10 Adriane Dehn. Honorable mention: Kelly Wall, Stacy Sunderwirth, Valerie Brown, and Glenda Katzmaier (‘88 All-State), Recent stats are not yet complete, which means this list will likely change over the years. Mercedez Brown and Maddy Allard should certainly be considered.
Lady Cards, Present, and Past - “Thanks for the Memories.”
