BELLEVUE — A lot of people from Northeast Ohio are headed to Dayton this week to cheer on their favorite high school basketball teams. The girls’ teams from Avon Lake, Rootstown, Creston Norwayne and Bellevue all made the state finals.
I went to Bellevue Thursday, where they are sending the team off to their first championship game in style. The Lady Reds are preparing to face Kettering Alter in the state championship game Friday.
“It feels unreal, I never thought we would get this far,” said Senior Hailey Rees.
This will be the first time in program history the Lady Reds girls' basketball team has made it this far in a season.
“We’ve always said that we wanted to have our picture on the wall or our names down in the history books,” said Senior Brooke Brown.
To many it’s no surprise the team made it this far, the girls dominated this season with a 27-1 record.
“We knew we had five starters coming back this season with a good freshman class coming in, and we felt there was a really good chance we could get there,” said Coach Kory Santoro.
Santoro has been the varsity girls’ basketball coach for 11 years, but his history with the school goes even further back. In 1945 his grandmother was a cheerleader for the boys’ basketball team at Bellevue High School where they won their only state championship.
“That picture right behind you on the wall (of the 1945 state championship), that's our goal, [to] put a picture right next to that,” Santoro said.
Even though this will be Coach Santoro’s first state championship game, the team is no stranger to winning awards.
“We’ve won 15 straight league titles, and I think we've been one of the better programs in the state. I think winning a championship is going to put a boost into this program. And the younger kids need to see this and learn with hard work dreams are possible,” said Santoro.
And the community support that’s always been there has grown this season.
“It's like doubled in size and it's heartwarming to see the community come together and truly be in this moment,” said Senior Audrey Turner.
Coach Santoro credits that increase to the growth and evolution of women's sports in general.
“The way the girls are playing is changing, they are getting so much more talented. And I think today, we've had a lot of fans come and support us through our tournament run, and they watched and see a different version of it,” said Santoro.
The players say Friday's game will be a different atmosphere for everyone.
“We've played in huge environments like this, but I think Dayton is going to be something that we've never seen before. I'm just looking forward to having fun with my teammates,” said Turner.
For the three team captains, it will be their final game, but win or lose, they are excited to end it with being a part of history.
