The 2007-8 Kings women’s basketball season marked the beginning of a new program, under new leadership.  The early returns were very good, with many victories coming by large margins, and narrow, competitive defeats against tough Loveland and Walnut Hills squads.  Another narrow loss to undefeated Springboro gave a glimpse of the team’s potential.  However as Coach Karabinus likes to say, a basketball season is not a sprint; it’s a marathon, and these Lady knights would endure a difficult stretch during which wins were few and coaches and players alike were struggling for answers.  Finally, it was decided that the only way to get back on track would be a re-dedication to the basics, and a commitment to doing things the right way all the time.

To the girls’ everlasting credit they bought into this commitment - they listened to their coaches, they stayed the course, and most importantly, they stuck together as teammates, and for this they were rewarded with a terrific stretch of basketball to finish the season.  The Lady Knights won 5 of their last 6 regular-season contests.  Varsity Red, White and Blue winner Jasmine Hill clinched a tremendous double-overtime victory at Wilmington with her clutch foul shooting.  Hill, a 2nd team All-FAVC selection, also led the Lady Knights in scoring in a tough win over a very good Glen Este team on Senior Night. 

A resounding defeat of the rival Little Miami Panthers in their gym, behind the 14 points and 18 rebounds of team co-MVP and 1st team All-FAVC selection Emily Leary, was the perfect way to cap the regular season.  The reward for this fantastic finish was a tournament rematch with Ursuline, the team that handed the Lady Knights their only defeat in those final six games.  The final score of that first meeting was not a good indication of the the quality of the game, and the Lady Knights were determined not to let the opportunity slip through their grasp the second time around. 

After leading by eight and holding Ursuline to 12 points in the first half, the lead was increased all the way to 16 points in the third period.  Team co-MVP and 1st-team All-FAVC selection Shelby Kies led the charge, directing the offense and accumulating 13 points and 8 steals.  In the end, the Lady Knights withstood a furious rally in the fourth quarter for a hard-earned, well-deserved victory, and would move on to face the Mount Notre Dame Cougars in the district semifinals.

Despite their status a s heavy underdogs entering the game, the Lady Knights played with confidence and passion, breaking the vaunted MND press and executing the game plan extremely well.  Mount Notre Dame had no answer for 4-year letter winner Emily Leary inside, as she and Katelyn Haralamous led the team with 14 points apiece.  The Cougars, who had raced out to huge leads in their first two tournament games by scoring over 50 points in the fist half of each, would be stonewalled for much of the night by an undersized but inspired Kings defense.  The Cougars would manage only 58 points in the entire game, but it was enough for them to win, and the wonderful season-ending ride for the Lady Knights was over.  The girls went out the way they wanted and deserved, with their heads held high, having given it everything they had in a game no one bu them expected to be close.

 The Lady Knights wrapped up their season with a 12-10 overall record, including a 6-4 mark in FAVC play, good for second place in the league.  These are good numbers, but this team would be best remembered by what they accomplished when their backs were against the wall.  The mid-season transformation that took place was no accident and no miracle; it was the result of effort and perseverance.  The second half of the season, especially the final eight games, tell the real story of this year’s Lady Knights team.  They avenged two of their toughest losses, against Wilmington and Little Miami, and rose to meet this same challenge a third time to claim the tournament victory over Ursuline.  Now, the new challenge is to continue riding that wave of momentum, continue to improve, and go on to achieve even bigger and better things in the seasons to come.