Head coach Rainey Jones and the Delphi Lady Oracles ended the regular season with an impressive 14-8 record and opened up their postseason tournament last Wednesday, Feb. 1 at Knox High School. Heading into the tournament, the Lady Oracles knew they would be tested in all aspects of the game from the beginning tip of game one.

In game one, the Lady Oracles took on girls’ basketball powerhouse Oregon Davis. The Lady Bobcats from Davis salvaged a 16-5 regular season record and had high hopes entering the postseason with a core group of seniors. However, Delphi handled the challenge from the opening tip. The Lady Oracles started out hot with an offensive spark led by seniors Bailey Gasser, Rylee Lane, and Kayla Fogarasi. At half, Delphi entered the locker room with a 27-23 advantage. During the second half, Davis gave Delphi all they had, but fell just short. With two big free throws from Fogarasi, with only seconds left on the clock, the Oracles won the game one thriller 59-58.

After enjoying the game one victory for only a short matter of time, Delphi got back to work in preparation for their Friday, Feb. 3 semifinal matchup against Winamac. The Warriors, a team who had ended the Lady Oracle’s sectional championship hopes the last two years in a row, were coming off a 77-49 blowout over North Newton. Although Delphi found themselves behind 24-23 at the break, the second half belonged all to the Lady Oracles. Stout defense from the Oracles held Winamac to only nine second half points and paved Delphi’s path to the sectional final with a 44-33 semifinal win.  

As the Lady Oracles looked to win their first sectional title since 1996, a stout opponent stood in their way with the Blue Jays of North Judson. Judson, who came into the title game with an impressive 20-4 record and having beaten the sectional host Knox 40-26, was the only team left in Delphi’s journey to cutting down the nets. With the Lady Oracles up 22-18 to start the second half, suffocating defense held strong and only allowed an astounding six total points which gave the Lady Oracles a 37-24 final advantage. Junior Katherine Lang led all scorers with 17 total points, which helped lead the way to the end of Delphi’s 21 year sectional title drought.

Going into their first regional in over two decades, Delphi faces a tough Hammond Bishop (11-13) team. Coming in Hammond Bishop beat Boone Grove 44-28, Lake Station 52-36, and River Forest 59-58 on their path to competing in the regional. The Lady Oracles play on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 10 A.M. at Winamac High School. If the journey continues on for Delphi, they will play the winner of South Adams and Central Noble High Schools that evening.