The 1996-98 Lady Trojans set the gold standard |

Of all of the sports that have been offered at Webster County High School since the school opened, one sport that has probably brought the most success for the Trojan athletic program has been girls’ basketball.

The Lady Trojans have had great players including All-State performers, Miss Basketball, and numerous Division I signees. However the 1996-97 and 1997-98 teams set the gold standard and were a great run for the Lady Trojans.

This team will be inducted into the Webster County High School Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday night, August 26, 2022 as part of the Webster County football game. Members of the team and their families and fans are encouraged to come out to welcome back the Lady Trojans.

The 1996-97 team finished the season with a 25-7 record winning the Sixth District championship over Providence and Union County. They won the Second Region championship by defeating Crittenden County, Madisonville and Hopkins Central. They averaged 73 points a game while holding opponents to 54 points a game.

The 1997-98 team went 28-5 and were the Sixth District champs and won the Second Region championship by defeating Christian County, Hopkins Central and Henderson County. This team averaged 71 points a game and held opponents to 49 points a game.

During their high school run they were part of some remarkable statistics with a 43 game home winning streak that lasted from December of 1996 until February of 2000.

They also had an impressive record against their District foes who have been powerhouses in girls’ basketball in the Second Region. They were 8-1 versus Henderson County over a three year period and 7-1 versus Union County and finished an overall three year record of 81 wins and 16 losses.

This group was part of a run at one point where they won 12 straight games against regional powerhouse Henderson County.

The two teams had seven players who wanted to play college basketball.

Members of the team included Jennifer Benson Doyle, April Shelley Thompson, Jamie Yates Jones, Tara Boles Bowlds, Courtney Melton Givens, Kelly Pendleton DeVilder, Melissa Dunn Wint, Stephanie Duncan Stallins, Kari Jo Edwards, Lindsey McCully, Jennifer Flener Hibbs, Caroline Skinner Morris, Leslie Mooney, Christina Dacy Whitsell, Lindsay Boswell Major, and Kelly Moser Manicke.

Among the players to go on to play in college were Kari Edwards, Christina Whitsell, Stephanie Duncan and Jennifer Hibbs at Brescia University; Lindsey McCully and Jennifer Benson Doyle at Oakland City; and Kelly Pendleton DeVilder at University of Tennessee at Martin.

All of the players were major contributors but Kelly Pendleton DeVilder actually was one of the all-time leading scorers in the state of Kentucky. She finished her career with over 3,000 points.

The coaches of the team were Cheryl Vaughn, Alan Vaughn, Lucia Jenkins, and Melanie Blanford.

The managers of the team were Robin Starks Justice and Missy Wix.

Coach Cheryl Vaughn was the Head Coach and her husband, Coach Alan Vaughn, was Assistant Coach. However, they were more than just coach and assistant as Alan Vaughn recently noted, “I was the person who worked on the defense and Cheryl was the offensive coach and more importantly, Cheryl was the one developing personal relationships that made the players concentrate on academic issues.”

Coach Alan Vaughn often says he was the one who was harder on his players whereas wife and Coach Cheryl Vaughn really worked on developing academic issues.

Former player Jennifer Hibbs, now South Hopkins Middle School Assistant Principal, said it best, “He (Coach Alan Vaughn) was hard on us but such a great coach. I loved playing on these teams and being part of such a great program.”

The academic side of this team is the part that is more remarkable. If you look at the players, they as a group have been more successful off the court than they were on the court.

The team has many great memories and great stories, one of which is the name Turner Vaughn, who is the son of Cheryl and Alan Vaughn. The story goes Coach Alan Vaughn, while Cheryl was pregnant with their son, would always tell the Lady Trojan defenders to “turn” the offensive player so they would have additional defense to help with coverage.

Coach Vaughn was always yelling “turn her, turn her”. From the defensive yell of “turn her” came the name that the girls decided that Coach Vaughn’s son should be given — Turner.

Several years have passed since the team left its mark and the footnote to the story is Turner Vaughn just recently graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan College.

Mr. Cartwright is a local attorney and contributing sports columnist. Email: kcartwright@feptc.com