LAMAR, Arkansas — On January 17th the world turned upside down for the Lamar high school girl's basketball team when high school junior Ashlynn Barnes died in a car crash. Every game since, the team has played with Ashlynn in mind.
Teammates describe Ashlynn as funny and a friend to everyone. Two seniors, Bailee Cowell, and Shaelyn Taylor explained “Barnes was like the one person that no one had a problem with, she was nice to everyone. She brought the sunshine to everything; she was always in a good mood there was never a bad day,”
“We have a banner in coach Schlutterman's room that has her picture and stuff on it and we wear our 15-level away shirts and whenever we run out we leave her spot open. Even though it’s not necessarily the same, it’s still her spot,” said Cowell.
Despite all that the lady warriors have been through they still have true grit.
"It's been one thing after another this year and that speaks to the resiliency of these kids. They've had every opportunity to shut it down and not give a great effort, and they're doing the opposite there. They're going out and working harder every day and just says a lot about who they are as people," said Head Coach Brandon Schlutterman
Coach Brandon Schlutterman says his team embodies their warrior mascot on and off the court. This Saturday, they will play in the 3A state championship, after losing the same game last year.
“You figure out something throughout that year, that you’re going to rally around and everything. These kids are seniors and they’ve been through a lot in their careers here. A lot of wins, a lot of tragedy, they just don’t want their season to end,” Schlutterman explained.
This year is another opportunity to redeem themselves for a state title, the lady warriors haven't won the championship since 1991.
“As special as this year has been, they lived up to the expectations that they had of themselves and to be able to go back on Saturday night for another opportunity it’s just great,” Schlutterman said.
And just like every game this season, this one is for Ashlynn.
The warriors will leave for Hot Springs Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. with a big community sendoff. The team is set to play Salem for the state title at 6 p.m. Saturday night.
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