IOLA — Kelsey Overacker notched her 100th win as head coach of the Cherryvale Chargers girls on Tuesday as her team beat Anderson County, 55-24, in the first round of the War on 54 tournament.
Players and Cherryvale staff organized a celebration after the game that featured a banner and a brief speech. Afterwards, Chargers players doused Overacker with water in the locker room.
Overacker, a Cherryvale graduate, has guided the Chargers to five substate championship appearances and one state tournament appearance.
“It says a lot about our program and about our kids,” Overacker said. “I had the same assistant for six years, and that speaks volumes about our program. Being able to have stability and consistency is huge for kids and it’s huge for coaches. I’ve had a lot of good kids buy into the program and it shows.”
In Tuesday’s win, the Chargers raced out early against Anderson County.
“We want to start fast and we know if we get on a roll, that’s what fuels us,” Overacker said. “It was great to see that with us hitting some threes.”
Tatum Marchant, a gunslinger at heart, caught fire and led Cherryvale with 26 points. The junior hit seven 3-pointers.
“You look back at last game, she didn’t get shots to fall and we were talking at halftime,” Overacker said. “Tatum said ‘I just shoot the ball.’ She’s not wrong. When she’s hot, she’s hot. She was tonight. I could’ve left her on the floor, but we’re not trying to make enemies. We have the opportunity for multiple kids to do that every night.”
Cherryvale improved to 5-3 with the win. The Chargers have won four straight games after going into winter break with a 1-3 mark.
“We’ve seen some tough teams this season and played competitive games,” Overacker said. “It’s starting to show. We’re hoping to go on a little roll. We’re seeing good things and we’re growing.”
Up next
Cherryvale will conclude the War on 54, with the semifinals on Thursday and final game on Friday.
