On December 8th, 2023 the Davenport West Boys Basketball team versed Davenport Central in a crowd-thrilling game where West dominated. A few minutes into the third quarter, the game was going well with West at a 20-point lead and fighting to take home the win. This was interrupted when suddenly the school went dark. Sources say a lightning strike hit a power line down the street, shutting down the power for the entire neighborhood and businesses surrounding the school. Everyone was forced to exit the school and the game was canceled for the night, but set to be rescheduled. Wednesday, January 10th, 2024 the game continued, starting off where it ended on the 8th. 

“In my opinion rescheduling the game was kinda pointless and dumb because waiting a whole month to play again and already being up by 20 with only 2 quarters to go was kinda pointless. We should’ve just ended it after the first game,” senior Idris Thomas said.

Some players were not a fan of the reschedule, while others enjoyed it since they got to finish what they started.

“I’m glad we finished the game because we played that game in honor of MyMy and if he were here he would have wanted us to finish the game,” sophomore Caden Green said.

The original game took place after Jermilyn Gardner’s memorial, and the basketball team played in honor of him and his legacy. This motivated the players to get the win and not let up against Central.

“We know who we are playing for so every game we have the same mentality and nothing changes. We fight, we argue, but we will always play as one,” senior DaVante Bradford said.

The team used this drive and motivation they had to finish off the game that they started. Nothing was stopping them as they dominated Central with a final score of 83-52. 

“I feel like the team played really well coming into the second half of the game, we got straight to it and didn’t hold back,” Thomas said.

The West basketball team knew they had to keep up their energy that they had in the first half of the game. 

“I think we played better from the original game to the game last Wednesday. We played with so much energy and we came out with the win,” Bradford said.

West basketball knows how to come together as one and fight to the finish line. They all had the motivation for this game knowing they needed to finish what they started, and that Jermilyn was watching over them through it all. Hard-working and determined is one of the many ways to describe the West basketball team. They know how to take a win that leaves the crowd entertained, and put on a show while doing it.