The Lady Trojans played their final game in the final year of the state tournament games played in the Big House. The team fought through the Regional and Area Consolation Championship at the Stride Center. The 2023 team finished with the most wins in a single season in OBA history. Four-year starters and seniors, Clara Caldwell and Leah Titus, were the leaders of a talented team, alongside three sophomores who joined them in the starting lineup. Caldwell and Titus excel in more than just basketball. Titus is a four-year All-Conference softball player and Caldwell was already a state champion in track and tennis and has been on two volleyball state tournament teams.
The journey to the Big House did not start at the beginning of the season. The journey started in sixth grade for Caldwell and Titus. Playing basketball throughout middle school and high school, they are no strangers to overcoming adversity. They learned a lot of lessons being 14-year-old starters, and they lost more games than they expected as sophomores due to injuries. Caldwell had two concussions her sophomore year and a broken arm that affected her senior volleyball season. Titus tore her ACL before sophomore year in summer softball and had a hard time recovering. It was difficult to gain back physical confidence to assertively compete. Caldwell and Titus both reflected that sports were taking hold of their identity and becoming too important. Their injuries became a catalyst for personal change. It was a reality check for the girls and put basketball in its proper role in their lives.
As four-year starters, Caldwell and Titus have had seven years of teammates. On the court, we only see the shining stars of the team, not the grind of practice or the hard conversations in the locker room. Now, with their time to be senior leaders, they were very intentional, even prayerful, with the type of team leaders they wanted to be for their younger, talented sophomore and freshman teammates. Caldwell and Titus wanted to be different kinds of team leaders, ones that genuinely respected, listened, and even learned from the younger players. They knew they had the talent to have a really good season, and their senior leadership style could make it special or derail it. Caldwell and Titus did whatever the team needed to win, whether it was to lead the team in scoring, dominate in rebounds, guard the other team’s best player, set great screens for teammates, dive for loose balls or make the hockey assist. Leah especially knew the right words to say at just the right time to calm and challenge the younger players in just the right way. They said of this season: “This was our favorite season, success or not, we had a lot of fun with our teammates who became friends.”
Congratulations Lady Trojans on a fantastic season and many lifelong memories!
