The Francis Howell North Girls basketball team has ended their 2021-2022 season recently and the girls said goodbye to the winter sport until next year. The team ended a successful season with an even 13-13 record and placed 3rd in their division. Many incredible team and individual accomplishments made the team a very tough opponent for others to come up against, coach Danielle Rampley gives some details about what made this particular team great and how they exceeded expectations.

“The team really pulled through throughout the season,” Rampley said, “We lost about seven seniors from last season so I didn’t know how we would perform without them, but some girls stepped up and filled in those roles as leaders and important individuals on the team.”

Some individual players had big seasons this year, Hannah Ermeling who is a senior at FHN scored her 1000th point during her final high school game and ended the season being the top scorer with 423 points. Alicia Hunn and Kendra Swope were also standout players this season with Hunn being second top scorer behind Ermeling while Swope took more of a defensive role on the team. 

“I’m really happy with how the team and I performed, we all helped each other become better teammates and friends while playing,” Swope said. “Against all odds we played very well and I’m proud of that.”

Building a strong team that can work together fluidly is a tough challenge when a gap of leadership has been left by previous seniors, this is why Rampley focused heavily on team chemistry and bonding between the girls. This improved performances from the team and helped them reach the goals they had in place.

“Coaching for me is more than the sport,” Rampley said. “It’s awesome to play well and win and I’m glad that we did all of that, but it’s also about making friends and giving these girls fun experiences.”