Just two years removed from an 0-15 season, the West Prairie High School girls basketball team is in the midst of a school-record setting season.
And for the three senior members of this year’s team, it has been a fun turnaround.
Last year’s squad improved to 6-25 and their current 16-15 mark is an all-time high for wins for the West Prairie girls basketball program.
For Madelynn Sullivan, Maicyn Shipman and Melodee Ford, the turnaround has been special.
Sullivan, along with Shipman, has been a varsity player for three years and remembers the growing pains too well.
“Honestly, from that period of time, it was a really big struggle,” said Sullivan. “Maicyn was on that team and she knows how difficult coming out of those struggles were.”
“We had new people on the team. Our junior year, we knew we weren’t losing anybody and had some incoming freshmen, so we knew we would come out hot and that’s exactly what we did.”
Shipman also remembers the struggles of two years ago especially with a limited roster, yet this season has exceeded her expectations.
“No wins and six girls on the team and ending the season with only five, it was pretty rough,” said Shipman. “And then our junior year, there were seven freshmen, so we added more players and more skill to the team. This year, I don’t think West Prairie girls have ever had 16 wins, so it’s pretty cool to see that.”
“We won six last year with a regional win, so I was expecting the same (this season),” added Shipman. “It’s pretty cool to see we could do good things.”
Ford was a manager for last year’s team but suited up this season and comes off the bench in a reserve role making this year even more memorable.
“This season’s meant a lot to me,” said Ford. “Being able to play with Madelynn and Maicyn and a couple of other friends on the team, it’s really meant a lot and of course, to have 16 wins with them.”
Fifth-year head coach Grant Bland also knows what the three seniors have gone through and is appreciative of what they have contributed to the turnaround.
“I just want to shout out to my three seniors,” said Bland. “They’re just three really good kids and I’ve known Sully and Maicyn for a very long time and we were lucky enough to get Mel last year added to our team. I just appreciate their hard work and their leadership.”
It’s been cool to watch them grow.”
The three seniors also appreciate the contributions from their coaches.
“He’s never given up on us,” said Sullivan, who will play basketball and volleyball next year at John Wood Community College in Quincy. “We’ve come off of some really hard losses against bigger teams, but he sticks with us. He always says it’s a new day and the next day at practice, he teaches us everything we need to know and prepares us for each game and that’s really good.”
“I was like a new student last year and then coming out and playing, he’s just never given up on us,” said Ford about Bland. “If we have a hard loss or something, he never takes it out on us. The next practice, we just practice on whatever we messed up on and get ready for our next game.”
Shipman also had kudos for assistant coach Cyle Rigg, who joined the program as part of the cooperative agreement between West Prairie and Augusta Southeastern this season.
Rigg was a former assistant to long-time head coach Matt Long at Camp Point Central who produced many strong girls basketball teams over the years.
“Coach Rigg coached with Matt Long and he knew what was good and what was bad and taught us the good to pull us out of a slump,” said Shipman.
