Harvest Christian junior Paulina Castro knows all about winning.
Prior to her time with the Lions, Castro was at Montini. As a freshman, the Broncos finished third in Class 3A. Last year, they went all the way to the top, winning the 3A state title.
Harvest, however, has never even won a regional title in its short history.
Castro and the Lions are set to change that this week.
The Lions (21-6) host the 1A Harvest Christian Regional starting Monday, and they are hoping to get past that barrier and win a regional crown.
Elgin Academy and Mooseheart get the festivities started Monday with the winner facing top-seeded Harvest on Tuesday. Hinckley-Big Rock and Hiawatha face off in the other semifinal, with the championship game slated for Thursday at 7 p.m.
“A lot of times people take for granted these opportunities,” Castro said. “At Montini, it is expected to win a regional. They’ve never won a regional here. It would be great to get our first regional championship.”
The Lions have certainly put themselves in position to do just that. Playing a rugged schedule filled with teams higher than 1A, Harvest has rolled to a school record in wins.
Though the old adage for coaches is taking it one game at a time, and the Lions have done that, the elephant in the room has been in the back of their minds all season.
Last year, Harvest was down by a point at halfttime to Hinckley-Big Rock (12-15) before a lack of depth ultimately doomed the Lions and helped Hinckley win its eighth straight regional title.
“We have a bad taste in our mouths from last year,” Harvest coach Rich DeTamble said. “We’re preparing for a team that won regionals eight years in a row. We’re looking forward to Thursday.
“We hope to give them a game, that’s all I can ask for. The whole season hinges on Hinckley-Big Rock. I’ve been talking about that game the entire season.”
Last year, the team had only six players available in the regional title game. Having Castro and an increase in depth give the Lions hope for a deeper run this time around.
“Our team motto is one team, one goal, one another,” Castro said. “That’s how we’ve been playing all season. My team is great. I think we all kind of understand the situation we’re in.
“We want to win. If we play the way we’ve been playing, we’ll be fine. We’ve been doing well. Hopefully we can keep it together. It would be fantastic.”
With a group of players who have never experienced a postseason title, the addition of Castro has meant much more than just her performance on the court.
“It’s not even measurable as to how valuable she is to our program,” DeTamble said. “She has a state championship. The fact that it doesn’t matter to her if it’s the first game of the season or the postseason, she’s the same kid. She’s the confident kid on our team.”
In Class 2A, Westminster Christian, led by Maddie Versluys, is seeded fourth at Walther Christian and could meet top-seeded IC Prep in Wednesday’s semifinals.
Paul Johnson is a freelance writer.
