By Brad Hallier

Faith Paramore was unavailable for an early-November interview. The request came on a Sunday evening. Surely, on a school night, with her favorite NFL team – the Kansas City Chiefs – having already played earlier in the day, Paramore couldn’t have been that busy.

Alas, the Haven senior was. She was down in the gymnasium, shooting. This is Paramore’s final chance at a state championship, and if Haven isn’t going to win it, it’s not because she didn’t work her tail off.

“Faith has gotten better each year,” said long-time Haven coach Dwight Roper. “Any weakness she perceives she has, she’s worked to make it better. She’s worked hard on her mid-range game, she’s hit the weight room and gotten stronger, and while she’s always been a good shooter, she’s worked to develop her inside-out, and take opponents off the dribble.”

Paramore’s lonely shooting exhibition soon ended, and she was able to chat about the upcoming season.

Expectations are, once again, high. Two years after finishing third in Class 3A, Paramore said she thought the Wildcats had a chance to at least match that finish, if not improve.

“We were upset at substate last year,” Paramore said. “We’ve got some unfinished business and we want to get back to where we were as a sophomore, when we were third at state. We talk about how we want to win it all, and that’s what we’re striving for.”

Paramore, who has committed to play at Oral Roberts, is a four-year starter who has been causing all kinds of mischief for opponents throughout her career. She even hit the game-winning shot in her very first high school game.

But the Wildcats have much, much more than Paramore. While she is the stoic type, with an ever-present steely glare in her eyes, junior forward Maguire Estill is different. It’s not that Estill isn’t competitive. She is. But after she blocks a shot at one end and scores at the other, she will do it with an ever-present smile.

“Maguire is a treat,” Roper said with a laugh. “She loves life. She’s so happy-go-lucky, but don’t be fooled. She’s competitive. She’ll step on you, if that means getting from Point A to Point B, and she’ll do it with a smile.”

Haven also returns forward Sara Yutzy and guard Kara Matteson, giving the Wildcats a strong, balanced, experienced team, a team that also meshes well together.

“We all get along really well,” Paramore said. “We’re girls, so of course there’s some fighting, but it doesn’t affect us on the court. We have a very diverse group of personalities, but when it comes to basketball, we get along well together.

Around Class 3A – After reaching the state title game in March, Cheney comes back with another strong team. A trio of junior starters are back, including Kylee Scheer (18.1 ppg), Lexi Cline and Halley Jones. … Halstead returns all five starters from a 17-5 team that should contend for a spot at state. Forward Karenna Gerber averaged nearly 20 points a game, while forward Madi McClain added 11.1 points. Hesston loses just one player from a 17-4 season and returns a talented group, led by Elise Kaiser, Marisa Vogt, Caryn Yoder, Harley Ferralez and Alex Martin. … Beloit brings back just two starters, but they’re good ones. Forward Shea Larson and guard Jess Meier averaged more than 22 points a game.