Nothing describes Concord High’s 2022-23 girls’ basketball season better than the analogy of a rollercoaster.

The Tide started the year 3-1, then lost four in a row and six of the next eight before stringing together a five-game winning streak follwed by a 25-point loss on senior night.

No. 9 Concord rebounded to beat No. 8 Dover in the first round of the Division I playoffs, 46-42, avenging its 56-34 loss to the Green Wave from Jan. 17. Then the Tide pushed No. 1 Bishop Guertin in the quarterfinals, leading at the end of the first quarter and heading into halftime tied before ultimately falling, 66-48.

“When the game was over, it was disappointing, but I felt good,” head coach Rob Darrell said. “The girls felt good. We felt we gave it our all. The girls put it all out there.”

The rollercoaster seemed to end on an upswing.

In Darrell’s first year leading the program, he admitted it took a while for both him and his players to find their groove. He’d previously coached at the middle school level and was the girls’ assistant the last three years, but this was his first time leading a varsity program.

“I learned how to communicate with the girls a lot better than I used to,” he said. “I (also) had a lot of support. I realized that our program is very supportive. I realized that coaching at this level is harder than I thought. But I felt proud that I learned to grow with my team, and I think as a team we all grew together.”

Overall, the Tide wrapped up the season 11-9, and Darrell said his returning players are already looking forward to what’s to come next year.

Concord will lose three seniors off of this year’s team: Rose Layton, Jaylyn Jefferson and Olivia Crawford. But with so much of the roster returning, Darrell’s optimistic they can take that next step.

“This season was a great season for me stepping in in the fall, for the girls growing together as a team. I thought we all grew. I thought we all matured,” he said. “It showed at the end. We really toughened up as the season went on, and I thought we really gave BG a scare. That’s going to carry over into next year.

“Like I said at the beginning of the year, my goal was to get to a final four. It didn’t look very promising even getting into the playoffs for a while there, and here we are: We were eight points down with five minutes left of getting there. I think it’s all doable for next year. The girls that are here that are coming back are ready to work hard for next year, and I’m excited about it.”

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