The Marshall County High School girls’ basketball team is looking for its 1,000th victory in program history Tuesday night in a game against Murray High School.
According to the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, the Lady Marshals are the winningest team in Kentucky by more than 200 wins - Louisville’s Sacred Heart Academy is in second place with 785 wins as of last season. No program in the Purchase area is within 400 wins of Marshall County, which won state championships in 1982 and 1984.
Fifth year coach Joseph Simmons defers to his predecessors when talking about the program's history of winning.
“The people that came before us, the administration, really bought in to being the best, not just in western Kentucky, but in the state, so they held everybody to a higher standard,” Simmons said. “And obviously, I feel like we play in the best facility in the state.”
Former coach Howard Beth presided over nearly 800 of the Lady Marshals’ victories.
Marshall County High School athletic director Jeff Stokes said if the team wins Tuesday night, an announcement of the milestone will be made. But a special celebration of the program's history is tentatively scheduled for January 13 after the Marshals' game against Paducah Tilghman. Former and current players will gather in the school's cafeteria after that game, provided the Lady Marshals have crossed the 1,000th win threshold by that date.
The Lady Marshals are 5-0 this season, beating their opponents by an average of 24.6 points per game.
The Marshals’ game against Murray High School tips at 7:30 p.m. at Marshall County’s Reed Conder Gymnasium.
