Owensboro Catholic Girls ready for special trip back to Sweet 16, after last trip was cancelled by Covid

OWENSBORO, KY. (WFIE) - Sometimes, life just isn’t fair. That was a tough fact, that the Owensboro Catholic girls basketball program had to endure, three years ago, when they qualified for the KHSAA State Sweet 16, after winning the 3rd region championship.

That’s because after making the trip to Lexington’s Rupp Arena, they never actually got to play. The reason: it was 2020 and the covid pandemic struck, and the tournament was cancelled on the second day, before Owensboro Catholic even got to take the court. This year’s senior class were only freshmen on that team, and their dreams were crushed, knowing their dreams of a possible state title, got cut short.

This year, those freshmen girls are now seniors, and they’re headed back to the state sweet 16, for the first time, since 2020. Now, the Lady Aces are no strangers, to playing at state, but making it to Rupp Arena, this year, is extra special, so they’re really treasuring this opportunity, to actually play in Rupp, this time around.

“South Laurel and Sacred Heart were playing a game, and we played the winner of that. So, we had practiced that morning, walked over to the stadium, and halftime of that game I get a phone call, and my AD said we’re going home. They’ve cancelled the tournament,” said Owensboro Catholic girls basketball head coach, Michael Robertson. “That was probably the hardest moment of my coaching career. To go tell your girls and your team that it’s over, that you don’t get to end it on your terms, but the pandemic decided you’re done, we’re fortunate that we get to go back up there.”

“We were getting ready to go down and get ready for our game, and so that was when we got told,” said Lady Aces senior, Katie Riney. “It was really upsetting. but we always said we wanted to get back there, so we’re glad we got to do that.”

“I’ll probably be in awe. I’ve never really been there, so I’m really excited to be on the court and play with all my teammates,” said Owensboro Catholic sophomore, Karmin Riley. “I think we’ll be fine, as long as we come out and play good. These past few weeks, we’ve gotten a lot better, came together as a team, so I think we’ll be fine.”

Owensboro Catholic will face Bowling Green, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. central time. The Lady Aces played the Purples just a few weeks ago, and lost by one point, so it should be an entertaining rematch.

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