Mid-Ohio Valley Winter Sports: ‘Rising out of the ashes’ – Girls hoops back at Parkersburg Catholic
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It has been nearly two years since Parkersburg Catholic High School has had a girls basketball team, a hiatus that brought a sense of sadness to the Crusaderette community when announced, but also one that has gave the community a spark of hope and motivation to bring back the proud and rich tradition rooted in the school's history, resulting in the revival of the program and the hiring of long-time Parkersburg-based coach Bob Carr.
"We have one sort of motto we are focusing on this year, and that is the emphasis on the idea of a phoenix rising out of the ashes," said Carr.
The Crusaderettes' last go-around in the 23-24 season ended in a promising 15-9 record, which gave a sense of determination to the program to do better, a sense in which they were never given a chance to act upon.
The girls make their long-awaited return this year with a depth chart that pulls together a total of 10 players, an issue that the Crusaders will hope to overcome during their 22-game season that will give the team a wide variety of challenges week after week.
"Our weakness this year is obviously our depth," said Carr.
"We don't have the numbers that I'd like to have in order to compete, but like Vince Lombardi said, "We're measured by what we do with what we have."
The team isn't without help though, as the Crusaderettes are aided by transfers Sophie Lott and Ellie Kinnison, two vital pieces of the Parkersburg Catholic scheme that come from the Parkersburg High School team that fell short in the Class AAAA championship last year.
"The biggest change for them is the idea of actually changing schools from an academic standpoint," said Carr.
"The basketball aspect of the transfer came easy to them and will allow us to compete with who I feel are two of the most talented players in the Parkersburg area."
The main key to success that the Crusaderettes hope to preach this year is the ability to be able to grow and learn from each other even under the pressure of being a fresh group of players who have never played together before.
"I hope both the team and the fans know that where we are right now is not where we want to be," said Carr. "This is a new team for both the coaches and the players, and we want to build a family that learns how to work and benefit off of each other over time."
The Crusaderettes plan to build around a front four consisting of the transfers Lott and Kinnison, as well as junior Annie Tokodi-Ruth and senior Seneca Lang, a front four that will be playing together for the first time in their lives.
"The four played together a bit this summer, and all I could see was chemistry," said Carr.
"I knew that the four would be special, and I'm very excited for the Crusader community to see what all they can do."
Coach Carr knows the pressure in on both him and his players this year but wants the girls to work together and do their best despite multiple players never have played high school basketball in their lives.
"I want my girls to be players is all," said Carr. "I want to establish a culture here that is sustainable for years to come, while also trying to maintain that same identity that the Crusaders are known for."
The Parkersburg Catholic girls are set to face Wirt County on Dec. 2, their first game in over a year and a half.
"I want my kids to be competitive and understand the significance of taking the floor, no matter win or lose," said Carr. "I want the fanbase to know that if they can be patient, they'll see that these kids can accomplish amazing things despite the setbacks they've faced."
BOYS BASKETBALL
The 2025-26 Parkersburg Catholic boys will be a season in which both the players and coaches are fixated on one goal, to play in the Class A state tournament come springtime, a goal they fell short of in their previous season.
"All of the boys have the same goal this year, which is to play in Charleston," said Parkersburg Catholic head coach Jim McLean. "That's not just a goal, it's an expectation that requires a certain work ethic that these players need to bring every day in order to achieve that expectation."
The Crusaders are coming off a 7-16 season that ended in a 75-65 loss to Clay-Battelle in the Class A, Region 1 Tournament, a loss that proved to be the final game for Landon Edwards, the team's leader in field goal percentage, rebounds per game, total rebounds and the only senior graduated by Parkersburg Catholic following the 24-25 season.
Retaining the depth from the prior year as well as bringing in new players serves as a crucial component to success in the upcoming season, as the Crusaders return six seniors from their previous season, including Preston Randolph and Leonardo DeAngelo. Randolph served as a game deciding force in the 24-25 season, leading the team in points per game, assists per game, steals per game and totals steals, while DeAngelo led the team in total points with 282. Junior Branson Lott, listed at 6-foot-2, also makes an impactful return after leading the Crusaders in both assists and blocks the year before.
"I think our biggest strength this year is our depth, a depth that we haven't had since I started coaching here," said McLean. "It'll be nice to be able to get deep into our bench if we need to and to have the personnel to be able to do that."
A looming problem that prevented the Crusaders from advancing further to Charleston last year was their inability to put together a coordinated defense through practice, a factor in which McLean puts a huge emphasis on fixing.
"We don't yet understand how to play defense in the way it takes to get to Charleston, a problem we plan on fixing with the new faces in our program," said McLean.
A scheme of positionless basketball is the method that McLean preaches at Parkersburg Catholic, a scheme which provides players with the opportunities to play multiple positions in order to be more comfortable wherever they may be on the court.
"If we play with the pace that we want to play with, we're going to end up with different spots on the court that push us to outcomes we want to achieve," said McLean.
The Crusaders travel to face Webster County on Dec. 11 to open their season, a matchup that proves to be an early vision into the future of Parkersburg Catholic Basketball.
"It's a long trip for us, and a good game for us to get out of the way to begin the season," said McLean. "I know we are going to be rusty because we have some new faces, but what I expect from them is to bring energy and effort."
High hopes are the driving force behind this Parkersburg Catholic boys basketball season, aided by their faith in their young core to develop into solid players for a better future.
"To both the Crusader fans and the Parkersburg community, come see us," said McLean. "We are going to be fun to watch."