'I had hope' | Rossville girls basketball goes from 1-6 to first sectional title in 33 years

ROSSVILLE − Thirty-three years.

A time span so long that current players' parents came and went through the Rossville girls basketball program.

Last Saturday, the Hornets did something those groups − every one in the program's history aside from the 1989-90 team − never did.

They raised a sectional championship trophy.

"There's been a lot of players come through this program who tried and haven't gotten over the hump," Rossville coach Chad Geheb said. "We didn't just win this for us this year. We won this for all the kids who've been through my program and the other coaches'."

Rossville has a long and storied history in boys basketball and the outside of the Hornets' home gym is a museum of sorts telling that story, with a small space reserved for Jennifer Jacoby, Indiana's 1991 Miss Basketball and the leader of that 1990 sectional championship team.

To create history where there was almost none, the Hornets had to start somewhere.

That day was Dec. 1, 2022.

The best Rossville team Geheb coached came during the 2017-18 season. That year, the Hornets were 18-3 entering the postseason and had the unfortunate draw of playing runaway sectional favorite Central Catholic in the opening round.

Rossville lost that game 42-37 and the Knights went on to blow out their next two opponents and win the sectional.

The program took a dip after that and last year needed a three-game winning streak to end the regular season just to finish with a 4-19 record.

This season, with four returning starters and the addition of two talented freshman, was expected to be different.

"I told the coaching staff in the summer we have some pieces," Geheb said. "A couple of those pieces are going to be young and not much varsity experience. We need to get them acclimated as soon as possible and take the four starters we had back and make sure the chemistry was there as well.

"We knew the upside was there for us to be competitive."

But ...

The season began with five straight losses.

"It was like déjà vu from last year starting that bad," senior Avery Gorbett said.

Three were down to the wire and the coaching staff maintained that only a few plays separated an 0-5 team from a 3-2 team.

"We've struggled the past few years and starting this season 0-5 and 1-6, it's is this going to be another repeat of last year, only winning four games," said senior Corryn Geheb, the head coach's daughter. "I had hope."

Rossville was 1-6 when it traveled to North White on Dec. 1.

The Hornets won by 18 points. Five days later, they went to Lewis Cass and won in overtime. Two days after that, Rossville beat Sheridan and another two days passed before edging Tri-County.

"We knew we were getting better, it was just a matter of learning how to win," Chad Geheb said. "The North White game was a big game for us because we beat them by 18 at their place. Then it's ok, we can do this.

"We knew the pieces were there, it was just a matter of getting them to buy in, believe and then start to achieve."

Achieve they did.

After starting 1-6, the Hornets now enter Saturday's Wes-Del Regional against Tri-Central having gone 14-4 since the beginning of December.

After avenging an early-season loss to Fountain Central in the sectional semifinal, senior Tori Skiles drilled five 3-pointers against Faith Christian in the sectional championship to help the Hornets avenge another regular-season loss.

"I've been through some slumps," Skiles said. "People depend on me on the team because I am a shooter. It was a great feeling being able to knock the shots down.

"Sectional champs, that's amazing. Thirty-three years later, we made history."

Now for more.

That 1990 Rossville team lost to Anderson in the regional in the days of a single-class basketball tournament.

If the Hornets can beat Tri-Central, which they already did on Jan. 13, they'll be the first girls basketball team to win a regional.

Saturday was monumental, but it had passed by the time practice began this week.

"We need to turn the page and start looking forward," Gorbett said.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Rossville goes from 1-6 to first sectional title in 33 years