The women’s basketball team at Reagan has been one of the more successful programs in Reagan’s young athletic history.
That was no exception last season when the girls advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs before falling to Northwest Guilford. Northwest Guilford went on to defeat Southeast Raleigh to win the 4A title. Reagan finished the season with a 21-6 overall record, as well as a 9-2 conference record.
But as with every season in high school sports, there are seniors graduating each year.
“We are young this year with many freshmen and sophomores,” said Head women’s basketball coach, Eric Rader. “We are working very hard to meet the standards of Reagan women’s basketball.”
Those standards have been upped the last few years, as the Raiders have won the CPC title two of the past three seasons, in 2016 and 2018. Rader has been head of the program for these three years.
The team has posted an overall record of 62-19 over the past three seasons and made the NCHSAA playoffs in all three of those years.
With a younger team, some players will need to step up to the plate as leaders for this program.
“There is a lot of pressure for us to be good like we were in the past,” senior guard Katie Cothran said. “Even though our team is young we definitely feel like we can uphold the tradition. We’re hungry to win.”
Senior leadership is something a young team requires to function well.
“It’s a lot of fun to be the leader of this team because they are so much fun to be around and so eager to learn,” Cothran said.
Even with a young team, the goal to compete in the CPC remains the same.
“We feel we will compete in the tough CPC this season,” Rader said. “With discipline and perseverance, the improvement will come and this group will exceed the expectations of many.”
The CPC is a strong basketball conference all around, but this year the teams Reagan will really be looking out for will be West Forsyth and Glenn, who both look strong in the early stages of this season.
Behind strong leadership and a strong coach, the team should be in position for another successful season in 2018-19.