That bond
The best moments of the year as told from a coach on the inside
Mekhayia Moore , Allie Cooper and Tori Hooker .
By Amanda Hoover Coach and former Bearette
The large golden banner that now hangs in the Brownsboro High School gym , the words “ State Champions ” written boldly and beautifully for the first time in the history of the girl ’ s program , can pretty much sum up the best thing about this year ’ s team .
Speaking to each girl personally though , the “ bests ” of this year for them , really run a lot deeper , and definitely more intimate .
Caylor Blackmon , part of the group since Little Dribblers said , “ We grew up together playing the game , so it ’ s not like we moved in , we all worked for it . We had been trying to do it together for years with each other .”
With friendships and teamwork that
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Photo by Abby Pope
literally developed over the course of a decade , the Bearettes grew stronger and more united together through every team meal , long weekend tournament , locker room talk , and the multitude of memories that really made them all work together as one .
In fact , Shay Barron is very specific about what mattered to her this year , and that was “ spending time with the basketball girls .”
Mae Lewis , although suffering a senior year injury , is still , “ very thankful for being on the team .” There are a thousand little moments between the girls who made up this year ’ s state championship team . Moments that stem from deep traditions , rich culture , inside jokes , and incredibly strong young women .
The team that came together to fight for one another in San Antonio March
4-5 and did so from an incredible bond .
When asked what it is that she ’ ll miss the most as this year has come to an end , Allie Cooper said that it is her “ teammates … spending so much time around them off and on the court because they ’ re my best friends and I ’ ve played with them my whole life .”
She and almost all of the seniors have been playing together since they were in grade school . Little dribbler ’ s seems a long time ago now , but those roots run deep .
Paris Miller was reflective on the very same bond as she will be moving forward to playing in college . She said that is also about “ this group of people . I ’ ll never get the bond that I had with these people .” State Champions ? Yes . Friends for life ? Most definitely .