HAMILTON — Ashley Pate said it stung quite a bit. Watching her Badin High School girls basketball teammates from the sideline the second half of last season wasn’t fun at all.
“I hated it,” the junior guard said. “That was really hard for me. It will forever have an impact on my life and how much I hated sitting out.”
Pate went from Lakota West to Badin her sophomore year — which forced her to miss the back end of the 2022-2023 season due to OHSAA transfer rules.
The Rams were hyped to have a deep postseason run, and Pate was expected to play a prominent role in getting them prepared for it.
Pate averaged 11.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in Badin’s first 11 games, then she reluctantly hit the bench with the Rams sitting at 10-1.
“I talked to some of my teammates about it and how horrible I felt to not be a part of it,” Pate said.
Badin lost to Alter at home before reeling off 14 straight wins to advance to the Division II regional finals against fourth-ranked Purcell Marian.
The Rams lost, and the Cavaliers went on to win the state title.
“I’ve told many people that if we had her the whole season last year, we would have beaten Purcell,” Badin coach Tom Sunderman said of Pate. “We win it all. She just gives us one more piece.”
THE NEW KID
Pate said she didn’t know a single student at Badin prior to making the switch over. She heard of a few but didn’t know them personally.
Braelyn Even and Gracie Cosgrove were two names she recognized.
“When I came here, everyone was so welcoming,” Pate said. “I wasn’t used to it coming from a big public school. You don’t really know everyone when you come from another school. Then you have to make friends off the first day.”
It was an eye-opening — and intimidating — experience that quickly changed.
“I heard about Gracie, and I played against Braelyn in AAU,” Pate recalled. “I never played with them. I knew their names, but I didn’t know them on a personal level.
“I’ll tell you this much, it’s great to be on their team and not have to play against them.”
It was those two, Even and Cosgrove — the team’s leading scorers — who eased the transition for Pate.
“Basketball has really given me that family that I was looking for,” Pate said. “Now I’m back this year and get to play a full season.”
NOTICEABLE IMPACT
Pate has been making the best of it in the season’s early going. She’s upped her averages from last year, scoring 12.6 points and grabbing 3.6 boards a contest.
Sunderman said her impact has been significantly noticeable.
“Last year, when she was done after her 11th game, she was playing her best basketball,” he said. “She wasn’t just shooting the ball well, she was also rebounding the ball. That was key. Her defense is so much better.
“Shooting and rebounding — she’s on it,” Sunderman added. “She does a good job of shooting that little floater inside the paint, which makes her hard to guard.”
Pate wasn’t guarded much at all Wednesday night.
She gave Badin an immediate boost by knocking down a 3-pointer just five seconds into the Rams’ home nonconference game against Withrow.
Pate went on to score a career-high 22 points and lead Badin to a resounding 67-19 victory. The Rams are now 10-6 and have won two out of their last three.
“It feels really good to be back and to be able to help my team the whole season,” Pate said. “I want to help get us back to where we were last year.”
With Pate in the starting lineup the rest of the way, the Rams have a shot — and she’s having fun playing her part.
“I just go out there and perform. Senior year is coming up, so I’m just trying to make the most out of it each game,” Pate said. “You just never know when it’s going to be your last victory and everything.
“I feel like we can make it far. I know we can make it far. We just have to work for it,” Pate added before joking. “I’m just happy to not have to sit the rest of this one out.”
