LADY BEARS STATE CHAMPS AGAIN!
By DEVIN SHULTZ
Staff Writer

COLUMBUS - The four seniors on the River View High School girls basketball team couldn't have had a better ending to their careers.

Brittany Bailey, Kristin Daugherty, Samantha Dickerson and Ashley Owen cemented their legacy Saturday afternoon, defeating Shaker Heights Hathaway Brown 45-26 in the Division II state final inside Value City Arena at The Ohio State University. The win made for back-to-back state titles, after crushing Mentor Lake Catholic 48-29 in the 2006 state final.

Yet with the elation came much sadness, as their mothers and grandmothers can attest to.
"It's done. I'm really sad," said Terri Owen, Ashley's mother. "I want to do it over again."

Donna Wright, Dickerson's mother, said the repeat "meant everything.

"They've worked really hard for what they've gotten," Wright said. "It's exciting that they got to come back, exciting that they won it last year, but more exciting being they're seniors and they actually got this far and actually took it home again."

Sandi Bailey, Brittany's mother, said almost nothing compared to the repeat.

"Other than winning it last year, nothing," she said. "With her being a senior this year, it made it even greater."

Daugherty's paternal grandmother, Irene Daugherty, was excited, not just for Kristin, but for her sophomore grandchild, Kari, and her son and daughter-in-law, assistant coach Bill and head coach Caroline.

"I'm tickled to death to see this," Irene said. "I'm proud of them. Very proud of them."

The maternal grandmother of the Daugherty clan, Loretta Mast, was watching her third state title and fourth state tournament. Her husband, Dave, coached Caroline to the 1982 title and took River View back to the state level in 1983.

"I enjoyed watching all the girls as they grew up and how hard they worked," Loretta Mast said. "I thought it was so nice Caroline and Bill could coach their own girls and feel so close to the other girls, because its such a special relationship."

There was little doubt among many that River View could accomplish only the 11th repeat in any division in OHSAA history, and first in Division II since Urbana in 1992 and 1993.

"I knew they were going to make it," Irene said. "I was sitting at the end of my seat. It was great. I love things like this."

It's safe to say that the seniors and their families will be loving these memories for years to come.

"It's a great way to go out," Terri Owen said.