Ross graduates five seniors — Mya Montgomery, Sophie Bowers, Liv Powers, Carmen Bosse and Kelis Egodotaye — who helped steady a team that exceeded outside expectations and finished tied for second in the Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division with a 6-4 mark.
Goshen seized control with a decisive 20-2 run that broke open what had been a competitive first quarter. The Warriors led 19-11 after one and 30-15 at halftime before outscoring Ross 31-12 in the second half.
Bowers led the Rams with 10 points, while Bosse added eight points and six rebounds.
Ross entered the postseason having won four of its last five games, part of a late-season stretch in which the Rams found their rhythm after navigating roster changes and injuries.
“A lot of people questioned how good this team would be when you lose a guard like Lanie Lipps,” Ross coach Ben Buehner said. “And then a girl who we kind of anticipated taking that spot didn’t play all year because of injuries. So just reshuffling people and putting them in positions they hadn’t been in before, it was a struggle sometimes.
“But we went through a stretch where we figured it out. Man, we were tough.”
The Rams’ ability to regroup helped them stay in the thick of the SWBL Southwestern Division race. Ross tied Talawanda and Monroe for second place in a competitive division, a finish Buehner said reflected the team’s growth.
“A lot of people tout the players on some of the other teams — and rightly so — but we were right there,” Buehner said. “I kept telling our girls, when you look at these postseason brackets and how teams are respected, you tied them.”
Buehner emphasized the broader body of work following Tuesday’s season-ending loss. Ross won 12 games, many of them hard-earned, and the senior core played a central role. Four of the seniors were part of the program for three varsity seasons and combined for more than 50 wins during their high school careers.
“We try not to talk about how it ended,” Buehner said. “We talk about us winning 12 games. Think about how many practices and extra shootings you went to to earn those 12 wins. We didn’t lose 12 games — we earned 12 games this year.”
Buehner said sending off seniors is always difficult, particularly a group that invested so much behind the scenes.
“I was super proud of them,” Buehner said. “Just what they went through and watching them grow up and seeing what they’re going to go on and do — that’s what you remember.”
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