Mount Carmel Girls Basketball: A Sensational Ride to the Top
- Riley Angel
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
The 2024 Season
Winning isn't always easy, even with talent, but especially so whenever the precedent isn't set. Mount Carmel has always had success in high school athletics. From Aces Football to Girls Golf, winning is a part of Golden Aces' culture.
With the girls basketball program, there has always been regional success. Tyra Buss, the program's leading point scorer, propelled them to 4 straight regional titles from 2010-14. Even with a tremendous player, though, Mt. Carmel was unable to net a sectional championship which had eluded them for so long.
After Tyra graduated, the program began a regional drought. They would only win 1 regional over the next decade. Along with this drought, head coach Tim Willis, who had been with the Aces since 2004, decided to retire in his 19th season as head coach in 2023. Aces fans were in limbo, and now a long-tenured face had left. What was the program to do now?
On April 24, 2023, it was announced that Matt McCarty would be the new Head Coach for the Mount Carmel Girls Basketball Team. This hiring brought new hope to the community that something special might be coming.
To start the 2023-24 season, Coach McCarty knew he had some special players on his squad. When asked about the talent he spoke candidly and confidently. "I was really excited... I knew we had a chance of being pretty deep and pretty good if I could get them to buy in."
He took advantage of the talent by having a ton of early season success. They amassed a 10-2 record by late December. This caught the attention of many, including 14 News in Evansville who wrote an article on the team with a corresponding video.
They would go on and finish with a 25-5 record overall. They fell to Teutopolis in the regional final by a score of 43-40. This was a loss that Coach McCarty would feel, even heading into 2024. The emotion in his face was clear when speaking about that game. He began with a shoulder shrug, "We talked about it a lot... We felt like we were the better team. Unfortunately, they just made one more shot than we did."
Despite the sour taste from last season, the expectations were as high as could be for the Lady Aces. They were returning their 3 superstars. These 3 were junior Maycee Randall, sophomore Riley Hershey, and senior Maddie Stevens.
Randall and Stevens were the 2 best forwards in the area, and Riley Hershey might be the most talented girls basketball player in all of Southern Illinois. With that core, a team would have to have an exceptional night to compete with them.
It was clear early on that this team had what it took to compete in the post season. They started with the same mark as the year previous, 10-2, but made it look easy in their 10 wins. Even with the second straight year of early success, McCarty and his team knew what it took to be able to continue it.
"We try to break it down as little as possible, moment by moment, game by game." He continued his statement with a serious tone as he reached the end. "So we don't look forward like that, you know, it's really easy to do as players. I even do it as a coach from time to time."
The regular season concluded with the Aces recording a 25-4 mark. Though the numbers looked similar to last year, this team had another year of experience to come into the postseason with. The pairings where kind to the Aces. They would play their regional games at Hamilton County High school, where they would beat both Fairfield and Carmi by over 20 points to capture their first regional since 2018.
The main goal, which was to win the programs first ever Sectional Championship, was still on the forefront of the team's mind, and that was not lost on Coach McCarty. "Winning [the regional] was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders, but we all knew we had that sectional hump to get over because we thought we were good enough to win it."
That next step was quickly approaching, and it would not be easy. They would have to face Sullivan, who was in the top 10 rankings all season, as well as Teutopolis, the team that had beat them a year prior. First was Sullivan in the semi-final. A late comeback from the Indians made it tough for the Lady Aces, but Mount Carmel persevered and beat them by just 2 points, 39-37, to get 1 win away from the first sectional in program history.
There was a relaxed attitude from the team going into the Sectional Final versus T-Town. This was a great sign for Aces fans. A game that had been anticipated for a full calendar year finally got under way, and it was all Mount Carmel early. The Lady Aces were able to create an early lead, and they would never let up. By the time the buzzer sounded, this team would be first in program history to win a 2A IHSA Sectional Championship. Mount Carmel would go on to also win the Super Sectional and get 3rd place in the IHSA state tournament.
The 2025 season is quickly approaching with summer about to be in full swing, and there is now a new standard with Mount Carmel Girls Basketball. "We're going to get everybody's best shot," McCarty beamed with confidence. "We can't just be satisfied with last year. We have to refocus and try to get back to where we were and hopefully we finish better."
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