After losing a slew of seniors and bringing back very little varsity experience, the 2025-26 campaign was considered a season to reload for the St. James basketball Lady Tigers.

And in the second half of the season they came out firing!

St. James rode the best defensive performance among all area teams this season to capture the undefeated Four Rivers Conference championship as well as knocking off host and top-seeded Cuba to win the Class 4 District 3 Tournament title - the ninth time in program history the Lady Tigers won both the district and conference titles the same year.

It was the fifth consecutive district crown, the sixth in the last seven seasons and 19th in program history for the Lady Tigers. It was also the 19th conference title for the program. St. James would finish the season with a 17-12 overall record after losing to St. Francis Borgia in the sectional playoff round Monday, March 9.

“You go in every season with optimism,” said Lady Tiger head coach Terry Wells. “The thing about this season, midway through we were just struggling. Then we found something that worked and got on a roll. And it’s amazing when players think they can win.

“It’s hard to rank teams; each team is its own, unique beast. As a coach, you hear things. And to hear people doubt you and see the players persevere and come together was very exciting.”

There is no doubt what led the way for the Lady Tigers - they were a defensive juggernaut.
St. James allowed an average of just 36.2 points per game - 26.4 against conference opponents. And the Lady Tigers certainly needed that kind of defensive performance, because they scored an average of 40.2 points per game.

Turning it up a notch, that swarming defense began to take its toll on opponents.

“The big turning point was when we went to Sullivan and won by 18 after losing to them earlier,” Wells said. “That’s when it kind of clicked. We played a lot of quality teams and beat nine in a row. You could just see their confidence grow with every win.”

The Lady Tigers were led by junior guard Payge Kemnitzer, who was named the Four Rivers Conference Player of the Year. She averaged 12.6 points, 2.3 assists, 2.2 steals and 4.3 rebounds while making 83 three-pointers.

Also for St. James, junior guard Adalee Richardson averaged 8.2 points, 2.8 steals, 2.4 rebounds and made 32 treys; senior guard Avery Campbell 6.5 points, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 3.6 rebounds while making 28 threes; senior forward Sophie Deluca 5.6 points, and 4.1 rebounds; sophomore guard Kaelyn Smith 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals; sophomore guard  Brynlee  Costoplos 1.4 points and 3.4 rebounds; junior guard Jolie Roark 2.5 points, and sophomore forward Kirrah Drennan 1.0 points and 1.0 rebounds.

Joining Kemnitzer on the all-conference first team was Richardson, while Campbell and Deluca were selected to the second team.

“Every single kid had a new role from the previous year,” Wells said. “I think it’s proof you’ve got to give a team time to learn those things. The seniors came such a long way from the start to the end,” Wells said. “They had a lot of ownership of this team. When they failed you can see it hurt, and when they succeeded you could see how happy they were.

“We were scared we lost Sophie for the season (with a knee injury in the opener). We knew we would have to go some time without her. We had to fill her spot by committee. Getting her legs back was a big deal; you could see that at the end of the season. Avery had a big role as a junior, and she learned a lot through that. Last year she was the first guard off the bench and was a key to a lot of wins. And the experience she got as a junior showed up big this season. (Senior) Jaci Foust was a huge part of our rotation. But she had breathing issues. And she was leading us in rebounding when she was diagnosed with a heart issue and wasn’t allowed to play again. But she hung with us and got to see her team have success.”

The seniors will be missed, but there is enough talent returning to make a run at defending the conference and district titles for the Lady Tigers.

In addition to Kemnitzer, Richardson, Smith, Roark, Costoplos and Drennan, junior varsity players are coming up such as Anslee Stubblefield, Milli Hartley, Adrianna McWhorter and Haley Stack.

“We have some key pieces back,” Wells said. “It will be important at the start of the year. We will have some sophomores who got some experience this year and a good group of freshmen coming in. I think we will have a competitive environment.

“Traditionally we’re a team that wants to play fast, and defense helps with that. This year we were a defense-only team. Our offense has got to get better. The kids have got to improve on their weaknesses. I think our defense will always be there. But the offense has got to get better.”