On Tuesday night, the Lady Panthers made quick work of South Warren 62-35, earning Head Coach Natalie Payne her 131st win with the program. Once she reached the locker room, she was greeted by her team, who quickly drenched her with a barrage of water.
In just seven seasons at the helm, Payne has surpassed Pat Hume for the most wins in Daviess County girls’ basketball history.
“I think at my age, and as long as I have been in it, I just attribute a lot of these types of accolades to the players and the parents that have been involved in the program,” Payne said. “They have a lot to do with it. When you have kids that really care about each other and their successes and buy into the program, that’s what means more to me than any wins or accolades I can receive.”
Payne’s tenure at Daviess County started as the freshman coach during the 2011-12 season, before taking over as the girls’ head coach at the start of the 2012 season. After four years at the helm, Payne spent seven seasons as the girls’ head coach at Apollo before returning to Daviess County three years ago as a counselor. Originally, she planned to step away from coaching for a few years, but the girls’ head coaching position opened up at the same time and fell into her lap.
Payne acknowledged that she is very grateful to Pat Hume and Matt Mason for helping bring her to Davies County over 14 years ago.
“Pat is a great mentor and a great coach,” Payne said. “He’s also a great person and still a close family friend. He was instrumental in helping me get back into coaching after I didn’t get the head coaching job at Apollo after my brother resigned. It was a godsend that Pat asked me to come to Daviess County and help him. Matt Mason was also instrumental in that, as he was the principal at the time.”
Since returning, Payne has built on her legacy, helping the Lady Panthers win the 2025 3rd Region Championship, the first in program history. This year, they are currently 17-2 on the season and 8-1 in region play.
“I think we need to continue to be ourselves. We aren’t last year’s team, and we realize that,” Payne said. “We are who we are, and we have an identity we believe in. We tust each other and I think that is the biggest thing. We have been preaching, especially over the last few weeks, to be present and to be in the moment.”
