Souderton’s Senior Night game against Quakertown was an SOL Featured Game, sponsored by Millennium Administrators. To view photos of the night, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
The box score of Friday night’s Souderton-Quakertown game showed that Hailey Kaunert scored two points for the Indians.
Talk to any of Souderton’s players, and it’s clear – those points, which came on the Indians opening possession, meant more than all the others combined in the Indians’ 73-29 win.
“Hailey is one of the nicest girls you’ll ever meet and the best teammate,” senior Allison Gallagher said. “Just the fact that we were able to play with her tonight, and she was able to score the first basket was really a special thing for our team tonight.
“We’re so close, and all of us were so happy when she scored it.”
Kaunert has been sidelined the past two seasons with ACL tears – first one knee and then the other.
On Friday night, she was on the court for the opening tap of Souderton’s Senior Night game. Thanks to an agreement with Quakertown coach Brittany Remmey, the Panthers scored off the opening tap and then returned the favor, giving Kaunert an uncontested shot at the other end.
“I dribbled and scored on a layup,” Kaunert said. “I kept practicing, and I kept missing so I was getting even more nervous. It was fun, it was good. I think I was smiling the whole time because I was so happy.
“It was just good to be out on the court again after two years. I really enjoyed it.”
Kaunert called an immediate timeout after scoring the basket and left the court to a standing ovation from her teammates and appreciative fans.
“Just having my teammates support me throughout both my torn ACLs was great, but coming back and playing with them felt even better just because I love being on the court with them, and it was great to do it one last time,” Kaunert said. “Especially on my senior night.”
“To watch her score that was a proud moment for all of us,” senior Bianca Picard said. “To go through that two times – you need a lot of support, and we came together and we supported her.
“To sit on the bench – I know what it feels like to sit one game, and I’m dying. Then I think to myself – there’s Hailey who’s been out two years. We were able to watch her have a smile on her face because she overcame something that was really, really tough for her to go through.”
Coach Lynn Carroll attributed Kaunert’s special moment to her teammates.
“It was really the girls that made this happen,” she said. “They were the ones that were begging for it. It’s a little uncomfortable to ask another team to do something like this.
“Brittany (Remmey) was great, the Quakertown girls were great, the refs were great. Everyone was on board. I probably wouldn’t have done it if not for the players really insisting, and I’m really glad that they mentioned it. They really wanted it for her, so it was neat. I think everyone was genuinely happy for the moment.”
As for her basket, Kaunert admits it was a bit unnerving.
“At first I was really scared and really nervous,” she said. “I didn’t want to miss because that would be really embarrassing, but even if I did miss, I knew my teammates would have my back, and it would just be another memory to laugh about later.”
Memories – funny and otherwise – are something this group of seniors has in abundance.
“This is honestly one of the best things I’ve ever been a part of,” Gallagher said. “All the seniors and even the underclassmen – we’re all so close, we all the love the game, and we all love each other, so it’s just fun to go out on the court and do what we love with the people we love and actually have success.”
The night was an emotional one from the outset.
“When I walked into the gym tonight and saw all the work they put into it to make the night special for us – I know other schools do it too, but it just makes you appreciate that there are eight or nine people who really care about you,” Picard said.
Sue Welch, the wife of former assistant coach Tom Welch, arrived dressed in a Winnie the Pooh costume, a touching link to an AA Milne quote that has become part of the fabric of the team since her husband’s death a year ago.
“When I saw her walk in the gym, I wanted to cry because the littlest thing like that, that one person attaching something that was special to us – that quote that got us through everything that we’ve been through,” Picard said. “In that moment, I was speechless. I really wanted to cry.
“Sue is there in the stands every game because she loves and cares about every single one of us. I’m not having that in college. I’m not having that ever again – that one person that makes an appearance at every single game, cheering us on win or lose. It’s hard for me to comprehend that it’s all going to be over.”
The Indians responded to the adversity of losing their coach by winning their first district playoff game in Carroll’s tenure at the helm last year.
“The fact that we can come together after such a devastating experience last year and still have a very successful season,” Gallagher said. “Winning the first playoff game for coach Carroll and actually making it close to states – you just have to be proud of a team like that that was able to do that.”
Carroll, according to Gallagher, encouraged the players to save their emotions until after the game, which was no easy task.
“But everyone walking out and all the nice things that our teammates and coaches said about us before the game really showed how much we care about each other as teammates,” Gallagher said.
“I was nervous before the game,” Picard added. “It could be my last home game because I don’t know if we’ll get a home game in the playoffs.
“I’ve watched my brother (AJ Picard) grow and watched him play on that court. I’ve watched so many people I’ve looked up to play on that court, and now I’m thinking to myself, ‘I hope I did that for someone else.’ It’s been tough walking off that court every game my senior year. I’ve put so much out there, and I don’t want to ever leave.
“We were sitting in the locker room at halftime, and I’m looking around at everybody, and I’m thinking to myself – I’m going to look back at this when I’m in my college locker room, and it’s never going to be like this. I’m never going to be as close to a team as I was to these girls, and that’s what brings tears to my eyes. That’s what makes me upset. Time is running out, and I can’t control it. We’ll stay close, but we’ll never be on that court together, which is sad, really, really sad.”
Carroll acknowledged that there will always be a special spot reserved for this year’s senior class.
“The underclassmen did a really nice job paying tribute to these girls,” she said. “This group really, really means a lot to us for a lot of reasons.
“Part of it was what we went through last year as a team – both the positives and the negatives. Up to this point, last year was the ultimate high and the ultimate low of my career, and this group was a part of it. They handled the highs exactly the way they should, and they handled the lows better than anyone could have expected.
“They’re just going to have a special place in our hearts – how they have just gone above and beyond when it came to the team matters and when it came to more important things in life.
“Not to mention the fact that they got us over the hump. They helped turn this into a successful basketball program.”
And as Senior Nights go, this was an especially memorable one for the team’s six seniors – Kaunert, Picard, Gallagher, Katie O’Connor, Devon Boehm and Hannah Bergey.
- Log in to post comments
