History at Horace: girls basketball team plays its first game

HORACE, ND - The Horace Hawks are tipping off history in 2020.

As the rest of the EDC tips off its high school basketball seasons, Thursday night was the first time a high school team took the court for Horace High School.

The ninth-grade team faced off against the Shanley Deacons.

"It's just a big opportunity, for not only me, for all the girls," said Horace freshman Kelie Sunde.

For a team that might've displayed some nerves early on, Sunde seemed right at home, draining several shots on the night.

"There were definitely nerves and everything but it felt really good to [kind of] make history," said head coach Kyle Cummings.

At several times in the night, Cummings could be seen clapping up his team from the bench and encouraging those not in the game to cheer on their teammates on the court. Building a culture of Horace basketball.

"From the top down, just everything from our varsity program, eventually, all the way down to our middle school kids," said Cummings. "What we want to do is build as positive as we can."

The encouragement was successful. By the final horn, Horace had the upper hand on the Deacons, 28-18. Along the way, the coaching staff kept track of some of the firsts.

"We tracked the first rebound, the first points, and the first win. It was awesome," said Cummings.

A season taking flight after the thought of winter sports happening some time ago wasn't promised.

"We actually got to start a season and for a while we didn't know we could or we would have one," said freshman Ella Livingston.

The season is on, and the Hawks are building a program from the ground up, setting the stepping stones in place.

"It feels really good to be a part of it," said Sunde.