Even with their divergent basketball season records—the girls were undefeated in league play, the boys without a win—both teams recognized their senior athletes last week at the last home games of the regular schedule.
For boys, it came Saturday night in their final game of the year, against Ukiah. The lopsided score, 92-30, reflects the disappointing season the varsity basketball team experienced this winter, and the continued dominance of Ukiah in the North Bay Redwood league.
But high school sports are about more than just the scoreboard, and the team showed their appreciation for its two senior players before the game, Alex Fitzpatrick and Sho Katsuki.
For the girls team, this season has been a different story. Only one member of this year’s league-leading Lady Greyhounds is a senior, and as it happens she’s been an essential component of the team’s success: Hailey Webb.
Before the Feb. 1 game, and after the senior girls from St. Vincent were recognized, coach Jim Lago took the mic and described the impact that Webb has had on the team—and the remarkable story of her family.
“I met Hailey when she was in third grade, and had the pleasure of coaching her in CYO for six years. We had the best league record our first year and made a finals appearance three additional times, winning two of those times,” he began, then recited Hailey’s years playing at Healdsburg Junior High and entering the high school as a freshman as varsity point guard “during the weird Covid season.”
“She picked up where she left off,” he said, “leading our Healdsburg High School Greyhounds team to back-to-back league championships … the second of which we clinched on Tuesday against Santa Rosa.” It was the first time that’s happened since the 2003-2004 seasons, 20 years ago.
“Hailey is a true winner,” coach Lago continued. “She is a competitor like no other and an example to her teammates and the youth of our community. She finishes her high school career with first team all-league honors for three of her four years, REIBT all-tourney all three years she has played in it, and Piner all-tourney this year.”
Additionally, Hailey Webb joined the rare ranks of players who have scored over 1,000 points during their Healdsburg High career. In so doing, she joins not only her sister Hannah Webb—who accomplished the feat during her Greyhounds career four years earlier (which means the two sisters never had a chance to play on the same team together)—but their mother as well, Alicia Webb.
Now also a team coach, Alicia Williams Webb scored a then-record 76 three-pointers during her own senior year at Healdsburg High; she graduated in 1995. “If someone was going to beat my 3-point record I could not be happier that it was one of my daughters,” she said. “Hailey actually told me when she was very little that she was going to do it!”
With the end of regular season play, Hailey has scored 1,220 career points, 99 3-pointers this year, with the championship series yet to play.
The coach finished his comments with a message to all the other students in the gym that night. “So why has Hailey had record-breaking success?” Lago asked. “Well let me tell you, young boys and girls in this crowd. It is because oftentimes, when I show up to practice, Hailey and her mother have already been in the gym shooting for at least an hour …
“And after everyone leaves, she periodically remains to work on her shooting some more,” he continued. “That is dedication, that is a winning spirit and that is the best example I can give to those of you with expectations of grandeur in any sport.
“It doesn’t just happen … you have to work for it.”
Added Alicia Webb the next day, “As for how I feel about both my girls’ careers for Healdsburg, there are truly no words to ever be able to express how beyond proud I am of them both! My heart is thankful for who they are on and off the court.”
