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“The Marshall County School District has continued to be in our thoughts and prayers,” said Superintendent Dr. J. Robin Cochran in a press release from Washington County Schools. “We are honored to host the girls and build connections that will hopefully last a lifetime. Kentucky Public Schools are a close-knit group, and we are proud of our students for their commitment to loving one another.”
This past Monday, it would have been easy to mistake who the home team when the Commanderettes basketball team hosted the Marshall County Lady Marshals. The game’s “Marshall Strong” theme was taken to heart by those in attendance as the stands were filled with a sea of blue and orange; a symbol of solidarity for the two students killed and 21 wounded during a shooting at Marshall County High School on Jan. 23.
“We are so humbled to host Marshall County on Monday,” said Lena Bramblett, head basketball coach of the Commanderettes in the same press release. “We have the opportunity to serve and love on students and coaches who have been through so much over the last week. Our players are excited to reach out to this group of young ladies.”
Organizers worked on a tight schedule putting the day together after the game was officially confirmed Thursday evening. Commanderettes’ head coach Lena Bramblett got the ball rolling with getting the game organized and quickly had the support of Dr. Cochran and Washington County High School principal Malissa Hutchins.
“[Marshall County] Superintendent Lovett and I know each other pretty well, and we started discussing whether or not we can make it happen,” said Dr. Cochran. “We’re talking about traveling three to four hundred miles, that’s significant. Once we realized it worked with their schedule and with our schedule, we were thrilled.”
“Everybody just jumped on board,” said Bramblett. “Our whole county, the tri-county area, donations, food, anything and everything we needed: it was there.”
The Marshall County team bus received a police escort through lines of well-wishers upon arriving in Springfield. Students from Washington County Elementary School, Washington County Middle School, North Washington Elementary/Middle School and Saint Dominic School made posters to welcome the team as they arrived.
That generosity extended as the WCHS chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) volunteered to provide a meal for the team upon their arrival. The Springfield Board of Tourism provided another meal for the team to take with them on their bus ride home.
For the game itself, the price of admission was waived. Instead, a donation bin for Marshall County High School was set up at the front door. One local business stepped in to provide warm-up shirts for both teams, and another volunteered to print shirts to hand out to students and fans.
“Whenever there is a need, whenever there’s someone in our family that needs something, we pull together, and awesome resources tend to start flowing,” said Dr. Cochran. “What was unique about this situation is that there was an individual with each section that kind of stepped up to say, ‘I’ll take charge of doing this.’”
A silent auction set up in the cafeteria right outside the gym featured over 30 items up for bid. All of those proceeds were donated as well.
“Sherri Smith [from Washington County High School,” was instrumental with the silent auction,” said Dr. Cochran. “What quickly started out as a goal of 10 [items] became 20, then became 30…I think it’s representative of our community.”
On the court, the Lady Marshals put on a show of their own, going on to win the game by a score of 55-27. As far as defeats go, this is one that Bramblett won’t lose sleep over. Especially after learning that the night had resulted in well-over $6,000 being raised for Marshall County.
“It’s amazing. Things like that you can’t put into words,” Bramblett said. “It’s very humbling to be a part of something like this where you can help the greater good…Serving others is more important, and basketball gives us an avenue. The good Lord gives us a way to serve others, and I think that [our team] served and they served well.”

Article originally printed in The Springfield Sun.