For the sixth year in a row the Crofton Lady Warriors punched their ticket to the state tournament – this year bringing home a runner-up trophy for second place in Class C.
They were given the 2nd seed, matching up with 7th seed Clarkson Leigh. After winning a tough game, they moved on to play against the 3rd seed Elmwood-Murdock, winning handily sending them to the finals. The Warriors faced off against the 1st seed Yutan Chieftains for the championship, falling short of a perfect season, but ending up as runner up with a record of 27-1.
Crofton vs. Clarkson Leigh
Crofton won a hard fought battle in the quarterfinals beating Clarkson Leigh 38-32 in overtime. At the end of the first quarter the Warriors were trailing the Patriots 7-10.
In the second quarter the Warriors cut the lead down to one going into half 14-15. At half time Sr. Caitlin Guenther stated, “Coach Moon told us they had total confidence in every one of us, we just have to settle in and have the same confidence to finish some shots.” During the third quarter the Warriors out scored the Patriots 7-4 to gain the lead 21-19. The fourth quarter was very competitive with the lead going back and forth.
With seconds left in the game, Tramp put up a three-pointer in an attempt to put the game away. After the shot didn’t fall, Guenther got the rebound and put the shot back up to tie the game. Jr. Lexi Wiebelhaus said, “The turning point of the game was when Caitlin got the team’s energy back after the game saving points, it helped the rest of us have confidence to put our free throws in and extend the lead.” In overtime the Warriors stepped up their defense, only allowing 2 points and scoring 8.
The player of the game was given to Jr. Sammie Allen with 11 points, 5 steals, and 5 rebounds. Two other players who stood out were Jr. Cassie Allen and Sr. Ellie Tramp both with 7 points. When asked about getting player of the game, S.Allen stated,“It feels good but I couldn’t have done it without my team. They are always finding me when I’m open and they do a good job getting me the ball.”
Crofton vs. Elmwood-Murdock
The Warriors destroyed the Knights 51-28 in the semifinal round. At the beginning of the first quarter, the Warriors got the jump and Guenther scored in the first 15 seconds, leading them to out-score the Knights 14-9 with very solid defense. Never giving up their lead, the Warriors continued to have high confidence, and they ended the first half 27-15.
Coming back from halftime the Warriors received the ball and continued to build momentum.
In the second half, the Warriors held the Knights to 13 points and put up 24 more, winning the game 51-28. S. Allen scored 12 points; she also had 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Guenther had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. J. Allen scored 9 points, going 3 for 4 in three-pointers, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Guenther was thrilled to make an appearance in the state championship. She stated, “It was really amazing especially after losing in the semi-finals the last two years that really motivated us and when we won it was amazing especially since it’s my senior year.”
Crofton vs. Yutan
The Lady Warriors lost a challenging championship game to the #1 seed Yutan Chieftains, and claiming the runner-up trophy.
Starting with winning the tip off, Yutan took all of the momentum throughout the first quarter. The Warriors could not make a shot, they were in a shooting slump almost all game. The Warriors were down in the first quarter 17-6. In the second quarter the Warriors made a 7-4 run in an attempt to swing the game’s momentum. However, going into halftime the Warriors trailed 23- 15.
The Warriors scored 7 points in the third quarter and trailed 40-22. Finishing the fourth quarter the lady Warriors fell to Yutan 55-36 earning state runner-up. S. Allen finished the game with 9 points, 2 steals and 2 assists. C. Allen and Guenther both finished with 6 points and 2 rebounds.
When J. Allen was asked what went wrong in the game she stated, “We just didn’t come out in the beginning of the game, couldn’t finish under the basket and when they gave us an opportunity too, we were too weak. After we lost all our momentum, it just felt like we couldn’t turn it back around.”