Everyone in the Community R-6 High School gym knew it.

Head coach Bob Curtis was one win away from 400 career wins as a head coach going into Tuesday’s home game against Central Activities Conference foe Sturgeon. The Lady Trojans posted their fourth game of holding an opponent under 30 points to beat Sturgeon 45-26.

Curtis was honored at half court for reaching the milestone by fans, past and present players, and past and present assistant coaches. He has been coaching at Community (6-2, 3-0 CAC) since 2005-06 and has led the Lady Trojans to nine district titles, six conference titles and two Final Fours.

Community R-6 vs Sturgeon Photo Gallery

“I was the most excited for all the kids that I’ve coached that came back and shared in it,” Curtis said. “We had so much fun getting to that 400 with all the teams, and we had a lot of different decades and teams here tonight. To see them afterward in the celebration at half court was awesome.”

Curtis called it “a blessing and a curse” that the significant victory happened against his alma mater Sturgeon (3-3, 1-1 CAC). The place where Curtis played in a Final Four and where his father was the principal and superintendent for 30 years means a lot to Curtis, he said, so he enjoyed sharing the moment with his classmates. However, he said the game put more pressure on his team to perform, but they did just that.

“That’s a lot of pressure with everything that was tonight,” Curtis said. “They performed in every quarter tonight. They were on the floor, they played with a lot of heart and they really executed.”

His daughter, senior Jocelyn Curtis, had one of her best games of the season and her career. Curtis finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

Jocelyn Curtis said she knew how much more meaning this night had since the opponent was Sturgeon. She said her father has worked hard to make it to this point and deserves everything he has accomplished so she was glad she did her part.

“We were giving each other confidence and really communicating and staying together to try to get that win for him,” Jocelyn Curtis said. “We were working for him that whole game. We had a goal, and we did it. That drove us all to play well.”

Chloe Johnson is sidelined with a leg injury but has contributed to victories this season and over recent years because she is a senior. She said being the team to give Curtis his 400th victory is special.

“I love being on that team because we get to celebrate it with him,” Johnson said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Peyton Beamer finished with 13 points, six assists and four steals, and Kat Meyer had eight points and seven rebounds. 

Brooke Smith led Sturgeon with 12 points and six rebounds and was the Lady Bulldogs’ only double-digit scorer. Bob Curtis and the Lady Trojans have exploited teams’ weaknesses many times in the past and did so again on Tuesday by only allowing 14 points in the final three quarters.

“We preach that every day that we’ve got to defend,” Bob Curtis said. “You can win if you don’t shoot it well on those nights. Defensively, they had 14 points at the half. When they’re fresh, to hold them to 14 is really good because they’re a good basketball team that can really throw it in the hole.”

Community plays at Van-Far (2-3) at 6 p.m. Friday in its final game before Christmas break.