Nothing stopped the STMS Girls Basketball Team in 2021

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. − Nobody knew if there would even be a basketball season at South Tahoe Middle School this fall. But the seventh-grade girls pulled off a winning record (5-2) and a third-place finish in the Tah-Neva Basketball Tournament at Eagle Valley Middle School in Carson City.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District had necessarily postponed the start of school with the citywide evacuation because of the Caldor Fire. When the kids finally walked through the STMS doors, their opponents in the Tah-Neva Sports League had already played half their season. And this, after no season in 2020 due to covid.

Still, with only two practices under their belts, the South Tahoe team boarded a bus for their first game against Eagle Valley Middle School in late September. Coach Jim “Jimbo” Matthews was elated when the team came home with a win.

Ask Coach Jimbo for his highlight of the season and you’ll hear, “It was how much fun they all had…I think it’s the most positive, ever.” The athletes got out there, worked hard and worked together − a winning season in more ways than one. Show us how it’s done, girls!

The Tah-Neva Division 2 (Big Schools) is Alder Creek (Truckee), Carson, Carson Valley, Eagle Valley, Pau Wa Lu, and South Tahoe middle schools.