Girls’ Basketball Finishes the Season Narrowly Missing State
March 7, 2018
Varsity Girl’s Basketball took their victory over Florence and Buena Vista last weekend at Districts and carried it with them three hours to La Jara. At Centauri High School, 32 teams competed in Regionals in hopes of ending up in the top eight to qualify for state.
The Mustangs first game was against Faith Christian, a team which the Mustangs had not yet faced during the regular season. The coaches prepared the girls by going over videos of previous games, running different offenses, and using statistics to create the best match ups for the players. The team’s main advantage was their ability to shut down Faith Christian’s main players, and keep their scoring to a minimum. Both teams were evenly matched, which lead to a close game. Faith Christian was up at halftime with a score of 14-13, and each team scored 9 points the same amount in the third quarter.
It was then up to the Mustangs to step it up in the last eight minutes. In the fourth quarter, the girls scored 21 points and Faith Christian scored 13, ending the game with a 43-36 win. This put them in the last round of regionals the next day, where they were defeated by Centauri 55-40. For the final two minutes of the game, Coach Justin Armour put in his five seniors: Amanda Nagel, Haleigh Foster, Alyssa Holladay, Brooklyn Mack, and Maren Mildesvedt.
It was an emotional ending for the whole team, but the sadness wasn’t focused on the loss. Instead, the girls were reminiscent of one of the best seasons they had ever experienced. The team had incredible bonding from the start, and were very welcoming of underclassmen. The new coaches developed a strong relationship with the team over just a few months. Although the Mustangs all wish they would have made it to become State Champions, everyone was happy with the season and have high hopes for next year.
