Lady Warriors Roll Through Early Schedule Undefeated

MIKE MOTZ

Sidney Sun-Telegraph

DALTON--It's not surprising that Leyton's Lady Warrior Basketball team has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season, however, the fact that they've only played in one competitive game stands out in the young season's results. The team is loaded with seniors who have played together since elementary school, and it looks like they have a legitimate shot to go deep into post-season play this year.

After their first three games where every contest was won by at least 32 points, the Lady Warriors did have a competitive game on the road against South Platte. Competitive meaning the Lady Warriors only won by 12 points, 48-to-36. After the South Platte game, the Lady Warriors won three more by lopsided margins heading into the Christmas break.

Head Coach Jed Benish said, "These girls play so well as a team. They've all been playing together since they were little kids, so their timing and rhythm are so well-developed. They're all great athletes, and that makes a big difference. The only downside is if one of them can't play, it kind of messes up the pacing and timing for the rest of the girls on the court."

Benish relayed a story of during the offseason when the girls participated in camps and tournaments, and his daughter Zaili was suffering from an ankle injury and couldn't play. "It really messed up the other girls' timing and pacing. They're so used to playing together for so long, it's not like they were suddenly playing badly, but more like they didn't want to play without Zaili. It wouldn't have mattered if it was Zaili or another starter who was injured, all the other girls would feel the same way. We decided to pull out of the camps and tournaments at that point."

After the Lady Warrior's victory against Potter-Dix on December 17, a 59-to-11 rout, Benish was asked when he thought the girls would have their next game that would be competitive. He said, "Hemingford doesn't have many wins, but they can score, so they could be a problem, and Paxton's coming up, and they look pretty tough."

Leyton went on to beat Hemingford by 30 points, and the Paxton game is on January 9.

By no means is Benish's confidence in the Lady Warriors to win big a sign of overconfidence or dismissal of other competitors. He knows that the Lady Warriors are a unique team, a team that has been together since they learned how to dribble, and have a big advantage over other teams when it comes to ability and working together as a team. However, it would not be reaching to say this team is poised to go undefeated in the regular season as you look ahead and see only Sedgwick County and perhaps Gordon-Rushville as teams that could pull off an upset.

The downside to being in this particular place for the Lady Warriors is when the postseason comes around. Starting with a District Final game and then a berth to the NSAA Tournament, that's when the competition gets elevated. The Lady Warriors have to start preparing for that inevitability sooner rather than later. Not trying to "jinx" their chances, but it does look pretty clear that there are no teams on their schedule that should be able to beat the Lady Warriors, and not that they should be looking past these games, but they must recognize that after the regular season is over, the size and speed of the teams they are going to face is going to increase, and they need to be ready. After so many years of these girls growing up together and playing so well together, a deep NSAA Tournament run would be the best end to this story.