ACS recognized and honored forward Olivia Chapman, a 4-year member of the Varsity Girls’ Basketball team, for pulling down 500 rebounds during her high school career with a special ceremony during the January 30 home game in the ACS gym. Olivia grabbed her 500th rebound in the first two minutes of the game against Veritas Christian Academy.
Game play stopped temporarily as ACS cheerleaders, Olivia’s parents, Chuck and Donna Chapman, and fellow players celebrated her accomplishment. Olivia is just the 14th ACS Varsity basketball player in school history to reach this milestone.
During a brief ceremony, Varsity Girls’ Head Coach Kaylee Breunig presented Olivia with a commemorative basketball and described her as “the heart and soul of the team.”
“I have been coaching Olivia for the past three years and I believe she is one of the most naturally, God-gifted athletes to play for our girls’ program,” Breunig said. Olivia has been a starter on the ACS Varsity Girls’ team for the past three years. She has led the team in rebounds for the past two years and usually leads the team in steals each game.
ACS went on to beat Veritas Academy 49-32, with Olivia pulling down a total of 18 rebounds during the game.
An exciting winter sports season is underway as high school and middle school basketball and cheer teams showed off their skills at several games during the week of January 25. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, no spectators are allowed in the stands, but fans can watch the games live on YouTube.
Three alumni who played on ACS championship Lady Cougars basketball teams made significant contributions this season to their college teams — 2017 graduate Dakota Hitchner, 2015 graduate Ola Oguntuase, and 2016 graduate Candace Winkel (pictured above with ACS Athletic Director Pam Hitchner). 
Hitchner, in her second year as the point guard on Cairn University’s Women’s Basketball team, averaged 20 points a game and received Honorable Mention All-Conference in the Colonial States Athletic Conference. Hitchner, a junior, is majoring in physical education.
Oguntuase, a pre-med major at Jefferson University, has been a member of this strong Division 2 team since her freshman year. The team came in first place this year in the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference and was moving on to play in the NCAA Division 2 Championship tournament, but due to the Coronavirus pandemic the tournament games were recently cancelled. Oguntuase, who plays center, averaged five minutes of playing time this year and played strong in the final game of the regular season. 
The ACS Varsity Boys’ Basketball team capped off its championship-winning season in the Tri-State Christian Athletic Conference (TSCAC) with additional success on March 7, winning first place in Division 4B at the National Christian School Athletic Association’s national tournament in Ohio. The tournament features Christian high school teams from across the U.S. who are the best in their regions.
“As a senior, it was great to go out with a win for our school at Nationals,” said guard Ben Noble, who scored 34 points, had 13 assists, and 6 steals during the tournament. Several other players made strong contributions during the tournament. Mark Rosie, one of 3 seniors on the team, had 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals. Senior forward Dan Roland had 24 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. Junior 6′ 8″ center Landon Shivers, who led the team in scoring with 65 points, had 30 rebounds, 9 assists, 10 blocks, and one steal.
