Beyond the Playbook: Proctor girls basketball features friendship and star power

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Beyond the Playbook: Proctor girls basketball features friendship and star power

Beyond the Playbook: Proctor girls basketball features friendship and star power

Proctor girls basketball has been on the rise, with anticipation that this year would be the best. It’s turned out to be all that and more, thanks in part to a 1,000 point scorer.

“Our love for each other is so strong that we want to win for each other. You know, we want to stay together as long as possible,” said Lily Smith, a senior guard.

“When I took over, these were our fifth graders,” said Matt Solberg, Proctor’s head coach. “They were the little whipper-snappers that you would help them out at practice, teach them how to rebound, for example. They’ve been coached by my assistant the whole way up. So this has been a fun group to be around.”

Eight seems to be the number for the Rails. Many of their players have played together from 5th grade to senior year, which is eight years. The Rails have also held two separate eight game win streaks this season en route to a 17-2 record.

But what about the number 1,000? Lily Smith knows a lot about that.

“1,000 was a lot harder than I thought. I mean, especially the moments leading up to it. The last shot was like, the hardest shot I’ve ever had to make,” said Smith. “Once I got it, I felt relieved in a way. I hit that goal and then I want to keep going with the real goal that I want to get to, which is with this team to state and hopefully win state if we can.”

Coach Solberg has seen Smith’s growth firsthand.

“She’s put all the time in the gym,” said Solberg. “Coming from our fifth graders all the way up. She’s always been that next kid coming. Now it’s her senior year. So it’s been a whirlwind and a blur.”

However, Smith doesn’t parade her milestone around, in fact, she cares more about her teammates and their success.

“I’ve been playing with them since I was in third grade,” said Smith. “So we all know each other pretty well. It’s been fun. I mean, working together with them and this being the last year, it’s really bittersweet. Once we got together and just had fun playing the game we all love, it really bonded us together in that way. We’ve been all best friends ever since.”