Vina varsity basketball teams honor seniors during contests against Cherokee
On Thursday, January 29, the Vina High School girls’ and boys’ basketball teams held Senior Night and took on Cherokee High School for their final home game of the regular season. Both Red Devils squads came up just short in their efforts against the Indians, the VHS girls falling 43-41 and the VHS boys losing by a final of 49-45.
The girls’ contest got things rolling in what proved to be a hard-fought battle with multiple lead changes.
The Lady Red Devils were the ones rolling early on in the game. At the end of the first quarter, VHS held a 16-10 lead over CHS. But the hosts flagged in the second period and only scored three points.
Vina head coach Richie Hester with his three basketball seniors after Senior Night. From left to right: Miranda King, Hester, Braxtyn Quinn, and Harleigh Ridge. (Courtesy photo)
At halftime, Cherokee led Vina 21-19.
The game remained tight all the way to the very end, Cherokee needing a couple points extremely late to win in regulation.
The visitors led 33-30 at the end of the third quarter and it was knotted up 41-41 with just a few seconds left. Unfortunately for the Lady Red Devils, a foul sent Cherokee’s Brooklyn Ricks to the line with three seconds remaining. Ricks had missed her previous six free throw attempts but sank the two that mattered most to give Cherokee a 43-41 victory.
Cherokee’s Layla Gorman led all scorers with 17 points.
Vina eighth-grader Miley Pannell led the Lady Red Devils with 14 points and seven steals in the game, followed by seven points from freshman Marissa Lamar. Seniors Braxtyn Quinn and Miranda King scored six and three points, respectively; Quinn also recorded eight assists. Vina’s third senior, Harleigh Ridge, started the game and made an impact on the contest with an aggressive defensive effort.
Vina girls’ basketball head coach Richie Hester said he is proud of his three seniors—Quinn, King, and Ridge, who were honored during the course of the evening—and they will be missed.
“Over the years I have coached several seniors, and some of them I am coaching against now. It is a bittersweet situation because you are going to miss them and the team is going to miss them, but you are proud of their accomplishments and the young adults they have become,” Hester said. “These three seniors will really be missed, but we wish them the very best in their future endeavors.”
Next up was the boys’ contest between the Red Devils and Indians, another game that was decided by less than a handful of points.
Vina fell behind 14-8 to start but was able to cut the deficit to four points before halftime, going into the locker room down 23-19.
The Red Devils came out hot after the intermission and overtook the visitors to end the third quarter with a 38-36 lead. However, that Vina advantage was not to last. Cherokee came out and played the final period much like the first, outscoring VHS 13-7 in the final eight minutes to win by four.
VHS senior Matthew Patterson led all scorers with 17 points. Vina’s other senior, Brody Raper, scored seven points for the Red Devils in defeat.
Vina High School’s basketball 2025-26 seniors. From left to right: Brody Raper, Braxtyn Quinn, Harleigh Ridge, Miranda King, and Matthew Patterson. (Vina High School Basketball/Facebook)
Randy Barnes, head coach of the VHS boys’ basketball team, praised his two seniors for their contributions to the program over the years.
“I’m about to be done with my fifth year and they’ve been with me every year since they were in middle school. They’re actually the last remaining players from the team we took to sub-region (2022-23 season) for the first time since 1995,” Barnes said. “As a coach, they mean the world to me. They’ve been with me since the beginning, they’ve trusted me, and it’s really hard to see them go.
“I really appreciate them and the time they’ve put toward our program and our school. They’re both multi-sport athletes, and you have to have that at a small school. They’ve really helped us out, and we appreciate them.
“They’re good leaders, good people to look up to, and good teammates,” he added of Patterson and Raper. “We’ve been able to accomplish a lot together, and we’re really going to miss them.”