Oak Ridge GBB on cusp of program milestone

The Oak Ridge High School varsity girl’s basketball squad had its sights set on making history on Tuesday, however, Mother Nature had differing plans.

The Blue Jays (9-7) were scheduled to visit Crystal City (2-10) before the game was postponed due to inclement weather. A victory by Oak Ridge would have been the team’s 10th, which would match a program record for the six seasons that the school has offered girl’s basketball at the varsity level.

“The young kids that we have,” second-year Blue Jay coach Julie Ward said recently, “they have been playing varsity since they have been freshmen, so, they are not new to the system or the program.”

The Blue Jays have 15 players in the program, but only one senior (MaKayla Rangel).

After the team won a combined 15 games over its first four seasons of existence, Ward came in last year and led the squad to 10 wins.

“We’ve got to look at this (program), not just as one game,” Ward said after recently falling to Woodland in the championship game of the Bollinger Cape Scott Conference Tournament. “in the bigger picture, we are looking to get that 10th win (and) then we’re looking to get that 11th win.”

That next step for the Blue Jays will not be an easy one.

Oak Ridge will visit Scott County Central (5-6) today at 7:15 p.m. (unless the weather interferes with this game, as well), and after that, Ward’s kids won’t see a team with a losing record until East Prairie (3-9) on Feb. 12. In fact, the Eagles are the only team remaining on the Oak Ridge schedule with a losing record.

“Our overall goal was to have more than 10 wins and to have a winning record,” Ward said.

Against Woodland, Oak Ridge got offensive production from five players, with all but two coming from players who will be back in 2024-25.

Blue Jay junior Reagan Howe scored 10 points against the Cardinals while sophomores Kinsley Kinsley Bogenpohl (five points), Jayleigh Price (four points), and Reese Morrison (two points) also contributed.

“We’re not done yet,” Ward said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but they come in each and every day and work hard. They give their best effort and that is all a coach can ask for.”

A key part of the Blue Jays’ success this season has been its staunch defense.

As nice as a season as Oak Ridge had a year ago, this year’s team is limiting the opposition to nearly eight points per game less than a year ago.

“That is because they have been playing together,” Ward said of the defensive numbers. “We haven’t really switched the defense up a whole lot, so they know where each other goes (and) they know where the expectations are.”

Ward implements a mix of zone defenses to keep opponents from getting too comfortable throughout the game.

“It’s either a 3-2 or 2-3 or a variation of the sort,” Ward said. “With that plan, they get accustomed to where they are supposed to be and who they are supposed to help out.

“It just works for us.”