To the victors

It's been a while since someone was able to beat the Lebanon Middle School girls basketball team.

Jesse Osbourne

Pictured are the Lebanon Middle School Lady Patriots.

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No team has done it either of the last two seasons. To put it another way, the Lady Patriots have won 70 games in a row.

The LMS girls most recent victory occurred Friday at Rupp Arena in an overtime thriller. With their 40-33 win over Crosby Middle School, the Lady Patriots became back-to-back state champions.

In the final, Lebanon Middle fought their way back from behind and capitalized on the second chance they received when Makayla Epps hit a buzzer-beating lay-up to tie the game at the end of regulation.

Epps received most valuable player honors for her performance, but it was the combined effort of all the Lady Patriots that led to their most recent accomplishment.

We hope the players and coaches appreciate the hours of practice, the extra free throws and the commitment to one another throughout the last two seasons.

But more important than winning, we hope the players, coaches and parents have gained a mutual admiration for one another and an understanding of what they can accomplish when they work together toward a common goal.

Very few of us have the opportunity to compete in athletics at the collegiate and professional levels, so the things most of us learn on the court and on the field must translate to other areas.

Winning is wonderful - especially when it's consecutive state championships - but despite what Vince Lombardi may have believed, winning isn't the only thing.

We congratulate the Lady Patriots for another fine season, and we hope they enjoy their accomplishments and the lessons learned along the way for many years to come.