Meeting challenges is a continuing theme for the Talawanda girls’ basketball team this season and they have met all of them as they take an undefeated mark into Saturday’s game at Wilmington for an outright league championship.

The Braves stand 19-0 on the season and 12-0 in the Southwest Ohio Conference. The 14-5 Wilmington Hurricanes stand in second place at 10-2 in SWOC play.

The team’s 50-34 win at home last Saturday was really closer than the final score would indicate, but was a result of the teamwork they have used as a trademark all season. The Braves were up only one point, 22-21, at halftime and trailed briefly in the third quarter before running off a 23-14 advantage in that frame.

“Against Edgewood, we started out with girls in foul trouble and injured. It was a real physical battle,” coach Kim Richter said. “I told the referees and the girls every team we play has nothing to lose, so they will come out strong. The first half was messy but at halftime the girls gathered themselves. When they came out for the second half they were more poised. It was a great game.”

Junior Ana Richter led the scoring with 25 points, but the coach praised the play of junior Megan Richardson, who had 12 points for the game, eight of them in the second half, including the points that put her team ahead to stay.

“She scored eight points in a row,” Richter said. “We really needed her.”

Richardson said the team came together for that game.

“It was rough at the beginning but we all stepped up and played our game. It was really nice. It made us all be one,” she said.

This week’s game will be difficult, but Richter is hoping a week of rest and practice with no games will her team get stronger.

“Every game we play is different, a different challenge,” she said. “This game, they had to be not only physically tough but mentally tough. It was a big game. Every game, we have to take it to a different level in some aspect. With Edgewood, it was mental toughness. I’m really proud of the girls.”

The Braves beat Wilmington at home 50-34 on January 5 but the road game means a long bus ride and a game against the team just behind them in the league standings.

“Wilmington Saturday is a huge game for us. We have two league games left to win the league outright,” she said. “The last time we played Wilmington it was a battle.”

Richardson said being part of a team means more than just their play on the court.

“It’s exciting to make it this far and everybody knows who we are. We’re getting noticed in the little town we’re in. The team came together the last few weeks to support each other no matter what. It’s really nice,” she said. “There are no complaints about practice. No one is dreading practice. We all are all in. We stay together. This is a really close team. We really came together as a family bonding thing. We care about each other. We care a lot for each other.”

With the end of the regular season on the horizon, coach Richter is trying to keep all the lessons of the season’s games fresh in her players’ minds.

“We want to finish strong and prepare for the tournament,” the coach said. “Our focus is on the different aspects of the game. The girls have responded very well. They are extremely coachable and work well as a team because they care about each other as teammates. They work to get better. It’s a good team atmosphere.”

The possibility of an outright league championship is exciting to Richardson but the junior guard sees it as special because they are earning it as a team.

“Deep inside, we know if we win we will be champions. We are coming together to play a sport. Winning is just the cherry on top,” she said, adding that her goals for this season all involved working with the team with no performance goals. “You always have goals of going undefeated, winning the league and going on in the tournament. My personal goals were to be more of a leader, to step up and bring the team together.”

Richter said they do not focus so much on goals.

“We just focus on getting better and the result has been winning basketball games,” the coach said.

With a week between games this week, Richter said the break will give her team a chance to recover from the recent grind of four games in ten days. She said they need the break to recover from injuries and mental fatigue before taking on three games in a week.

Following Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game at Wilmington, they close out the regular season with two home games—a non-league game with Kings at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and then the final SWOC game with Little Miami at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Feb. 9.