Wright City girls basketball coach Abby Modaff saw growth throughout this past season, which saw the Wildcats win their first district tournament game since 2006.
With the Wildcats coming off a 5-16 season in the 2020-2021 school year, Modaff led the Wildcats to three more wins this season and their first district tournament win since 2006 in her first year as head coach at Wright City.
Wright City defeated Bowling Green 33-28 in the first round of the district tournament to win their first district tournament game in 16 years. The Wildcats fell in the district tournament semifinals to top-seeded St. Charles West 61-35.
“As a team, we set goals at the beginning of the season that we wanted to earn more than five wins this season since that is what we did the previous year,” Modaff said. “And we did just that. We ended up winning eight games and the first district win since 2006. Although a win in district was a goal, it was not at the top of our highlights.”
Modaff saw a lot of growth with the team, especially late in the season, she said.
“I saw improvements in our team defense that won us some games down the stretch,” Modaff said. “I also saw improvements in teamwork and court awareness.”
The Wildcats had contributions from numerous underclassmen. Freshman Paige Rees stepped into the point guard role exactly how Modaff envisioned. Modaff said Rees saw the floor and distributed the ball. Modaff believes sophomore Kaedyn Johnson was a leader on and off the floor. Modaff added Johnson willingingly changed positions to help the team. Modadff said fellow sophomore Charleigh Ferrell brought a new dynamic to the team’s defense.
“Without these three underclassmen, we would not have been the team we were this season,” Modaff said.