Whether the Charger girls basketball team will be allowed to play in the IHSA regional semifinal will be decided on Monday, only two days before the game.
The Illinois High School Association's board of directors has the Orion situation on its agenda for Monday, Feb. 8, according to principal Ron Harris.
An IHSA official told the school to have the girls practice as if they will be playing state-ranked Ridgewood in the semifinal on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in Woodhull.
Nine players were suspended from the team following an incident, said Nathan DeBaillie, athletic director and dean of students.
"They are still part of the team," Harris said. "They are expected to do everything the team does. They are not allowed to dress for a contest."
Seven freshmen were brought up to replace the suspended girls in the final games of the regular season.
IHSA policy limits the number of tournaments in which athletes can participate, and the freshmen already have played in the maximum for basketball, four. The postseason counts as a tournament.
Based on what OHS heard from the IHSA official, Harris believes the recommendation to the board will be to let the Chargers play in regionals.
"I have high hopes," he said.
OHS told the IHSA that keeping the team out of regionals would punish the girls who did the right thing and stayed away from the event that led to the discipline, the principal said.
Students going out for a sport receive an athletic handbook, and they have to sign a statement that they have read it, Harris said.
The suspended players have to sit out one-third of their season, or seven games for girls basketball, Harris said. If the season ends before they served the seven games, the penalty continues into the next season.
For example, if girls basketball ends with the girls missing six games, anyone going out for soccer, softball or track would have to miss one game or one meet, the principal said.
