03/13/2026
The Jays in Delaware - Dominance 🏀
In the history of Jay basketball, few can claim the dominance Jay showed in the 1980s. The Lady Bulldogs didn't just win one state title; they captured two in a single decade, winning the Class 3A State Championship in 1983 and again in 1988.
What makes this history special isn't just the trophies; it’s the fact that the women who won them—Coach Shelia Sturges, Middle School Counselor Robin Shambaugh, and Lower Elementary Counselor Jeana Ramsey—are still walking Jay Public Schools halls today, shaping the next generation of Bulldogs.
The 1982-83 championship was forged in the heat of the summer and cemented by a town that lived and breathed basketball. According to Coach Sturges, the secret to their success was a level of discipline that began long before the season started.
“We were required to work 100 hours in the summer on our weaknesses,” Sturges recalls. “We also stayed together as a team; we had 10 seniors who stayed in basketball from sixth grade all the way to our State Championship.”
Five years later, the 1987-88 team proved that Jay’s dominance wasn't a fluke. However, the path to an undefeated season didn't start smoothly. Lower Elementary Counselor Jeana Ramsey remembers a turning point early on.
“Our scrimmages did not go well at all,” Ramsey says. “At one point, Coach Collins told us he didn’t think we would win a game that year! That may have been out of frustration, but it sparked us to get better every day and concentrate on the little things.”
That spark led to a 29-0 season and one of the most iconic moments in Jay sports history: The State final against Stigler. Read the full story in today's Delaware County Journal.
