The new librarian Rachel Miller has made many improvements and changes to the library. A recent change is adding new books to the library. Miller spent many hours at Books-A-Million to purchase the books.
“I went with the intention of buying primarily nonfiction and graphic novels, but I was also able to get a number of new fiction titles as well. I purchased nonfiction books with topics that are relevant to PHS students like robotics, technology, and folklore,” said Miller.
The junior high was lacking books that appealed to them, and that is where Miller started her shopping.
“When purchasing books, I think about the topics and types of books that students and teachers have requested. Teachers have requested more nonfiction books and students have requested more middle grades books and graphic novels, so that’s where I started when I began to make my lists,” said Miller.
Students can check out books by writing their name on the card in the back of the book and leaving it on the card counter. The library is in the process of putting our collection online, so eventually students will simply scan their lunch card (or enter their lunch number) to check out a book.
Beginning in the 2021-2022 season, a new IHSAA rule has been introduced to high school basketball. If a team happens to be winning by 35 or more points after the first half, a running clock will be established for the remainder of the game. If the clock was to stop for any reason, it would be because of an injury timeout, a team timeout, intermission between quarters, free throw shots or any other time officials feel it is necessary. This new rule will be in place for both boys and girls basketball, as well as throughout the state tournament. But, this rule will not be in place for the state final.
The high school girls basketball team has already had three instances where this rule has been applied.
“Just like for football, I think it’s a nice addition to this sport and it helps deter thoughts of bad sportsmanship. With this rule, a school can’t really be accused of running up a score and for the school on the other end they don’t have to endure that feeling of a never ending game,” said Athletic Director Darek Newkirk.
The Paoli JV girls basket ball team will be hosting a tournament on Tuesday, December 21. Competing in the tournament will be Barr-Reeve, Eastern Pekin, Paoli and Tell City.
The first game will be between Tell City and Paoli, with a 6 p.m. start time in the lower gym. The second game will be between Barr-Reeve and Eastern Pekin, with a 6 p.m. start time in the upper gym. Game three will be between the winner of game two vs. Paoli, with a 7:30 p.m. start time in the lower gym. The last game will be at 7:30 p.m. in the upper gym between Tell City and the winner of game two.
The second teams listed on the schedule will be the home teams, and will wear light colored jerseys. There will be two open doors for this tournament. Door one is in the front of school by the main office, and door 11 is located at the back of school. These will be open for spectators to come into the school. Admission will be $5.
On Tuesday December 14 the Lady Rams defeated the Clarksville Generals 68-14. Coach Donavan Crews felt really good about the game.
“This was a game we thought we could jump on them early and take control of the game with our defensive pressure. The girls did a nice job of coming in focused and ready to go,” said Crews. “It’s easy to come into a game like this overconfident and not focused but that was not the case tonight. Our press really got us going in the first quarter. We caused a lot of turnovers, and we were able to score on the back end. Our half-court defense was pretty good all night. We had a game plan in place and the girls executed nicely.”
The three leading scorers were junior Jackie Crews with 17 points, senior Kacey McBride with 12 points, and senior Gracie Walls with 11 points.
“I thought our guards really caused them a lot of trouble all night long. Our bigs ran the floor well in our fast breaks and that’s nice to see. We also had a pretty good shooting night from the floor and from the free throw line. From the free throw line we were 83% which is nice to see.
With the team so far ahead, crews felt fortunate that his team was in a position to allow younger players a chance to get in the game.
“We were able to play a lot of kids and almost everyone scored. It was good to get some of those younger kids able in the game to get a little varsity time. That will help down the road. Now we need to move on and get ready for Barr-Reeve and hopefully add to our winning streak going into the Toby Yoho tournament,” said Crews.
This afternoon the Lady Rams will take on Barr-Reeve Vikings this afternoon at 1 p.m. Paoli is 6-5 on the season and the Vikings are 4-6.
Story by Jeremiah Hutcheson
Junior Jackie Crews dribbles the ball up the court as she sets up the offense.Senior Kacey McBride takes the ball up to court before setting up the next play.Junior Amelia Hess takes the ball out of bounds.Senior Kinsey McBride defends Clarksville point guard from scoring.
The Boys Varsity Basketball team played at home on Friday, December 10 against West Washington. Paoli won 53 to 41. This was the Rams first conference game and showed the fans and their opponents what they were capable of.
“Any time you win something multiple years in a row, the target on your back gets bigger and bigger. Paoli has now won or shared the Conference title in Basketball for four years in a row so all of the other teams are gunning for us. It’s always a fear of mine that you lose your hunger and other teams want to win more than you do. I reminded our team of that before we tipped off. They went out and proved that we wanted it more than West Washington did. And that is how you must play if you want to stay on top,” said Varsity Head Coach Dusty Cole.
Junior Isaac Cornett McBride shoots the ball for the Rams. Photo by Faith Gammon.
John Moon had a great game and led the way with 17 points scored. Fletcher Cole was limited this week with nine points and Trey Rominger was well guarded with only 13 points. Isaac Cornett-McBride had six points and Carson Little had eight.
Senior Carson Little goes up strong for a layup. Photo by Faith Gammon.
“Our seniors were terrific and we were able to be physical and flex our muscles a little bit against West Washington. We knew that our front court would have a big advantage in this game with size, and definitely strength,” said Cole.
The Rams knew the Senators would try numerous defensive strategies in the game.
Senior John Moon looks over the court to make a play. Photo by faith Gammon.
“We also knew they were going to try and limit Fletcher and Trey. West Washington even played a Diamond-and-1 defense against Fletcher for part of the game. But we really felt like that actually played right into our hands as that allowed Isaac, John, and Carson to play 1-on-1 inside against the smaller, weaker West Washington defenders. Those guys dominated the paint and the glass. John has been really consistent for us this year and led the way with 17 points. You know he is playing with a lot of confidence when he is stepping out and hitting three pointers and he hit two last weekend against West Washington. John is a senior and a three-year starter, so we expect him to play well and he has so far,” said Cole.
Freshman Fletcher Cole drives to the rim for a layup. Photo by Faith Gammon.
The boys are 3-0 on the season and are continuing to improve. Tonight they play the Austin Eagles at Austin, with the JV game starting at 6 p.m. The Varsity Eagles are 1-4 in the season.
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