Windham Youth Basketball teams head to Rhode Island for regional championships

Windham's fourth-grade girls' team won the state youth 
basketball title and advances to compete in the regional
championships in Rhode Island. From left are Julia Call,
Jasmine Shaw, Addie McPherson, Reagan McGee, Ella
Higgins, Naia Varney, and Elsa Pearson. 
PHOTO BY MEGHAN PEARSON  

By Matt Pascarella

Windham Youth Basketball Association’s fourth-grade girls, fourth-grade boys, seventh-grade girls and seventh-grade boys teams played their hearts out in the state championships in Augusta on Feb. 27 and as a result, all four Windham teams qualified for the regionals and will be headed to The New England Basketball Championship in Rhode Island on this weekend.

The New England Basketball Championship features the top teams from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island to face off against players in grades three through eight.

Windham teams did great at the state championship and Windham’s fourth-grade girls’ and seventh-grade boys’ teams walked off the court as state champions while Windham’s fourth-grade boys’ and seventh-grade girls’ teams gave it everything they had and finished as state runners-up.

“It’s been extremely rewarding and fun to be part of this team’s success and I look forward to watching the kids continue to grow over the years,” said WYBA fourth-grade boys’ coach Steven DePaolo II.

He said the season was unique in that they played most of the regular season against higher competition. Windham pushed each other to get better week after week and every time the kids stepped on the court, they put everything they had into their game. They finished second out of seven teams.

“We had a lot of fun, worked really hard and learned a lot from each other and our coaches,” said WYBA fourth-grader Elsa Pearson.

Pearson is very excited to go to regionals and see what she and her team can do.

The fourth-grade girls’ team qualified for the state championship through perseverance, teamwork and from learning a better way of doing things.

“For most, if not all these girls, this is the first year they’ve played organized basketball,” said WYBA fourth-grade girls’ coach Lily Cooper. “These girls have been able to grow so much in such a short amount of time and it’s been very cool to see!”

 

Windham’s seventh-grade girls competed well all season, too. They have a strong work ethic based on hustle, determination, intensity, defense and rebounding.

They battled a tough team from Gray New Gloucester and left it all on the court.

 

“We were not out hustled in any game this year,” said WYBA seventh-grade girls’ coach Ben Delewski. “Parents are just as committed as the girls and that makes everything better.”

 

WYBA seventh-grade boys’ coach Josh Krainis said the team doesn’t have one or two stars on it, but instead a team of playmakers who can carry the team at any given time.

 

Krainis said the team had lost a few close games during the season.

The state championship games came down to the wire and Windham flipped the script and came out champions.

WYBA seventh-grader Luke Drottar had a foot injury going into the state championship game but decided to play through.

 

“I knew that my team needed me, so I didn’t think a lot about my foot. I just went out there and played,” said Drottar.<