By Wyatt Tramp and
Josh Palensky - CHS Journalism
The Crofton Lady Warriors went down to Lincoln for the state tournament March 6-8 and were able to battle their way to a third place finish in Lincoln.
The Lady Warriors started their tournament off facing, returning state champs, the Yutan Chieftains. The Lady Warriors were the second seed in the tournament and the Chieftains came in seventh. The Lady Warriors came out of the first quarter with an imposing 24-6 lead.
The Chieftains’ defense stiffened up, and the Warriors’ lead shortened as the score going into half was 30-16. Coming out of halftime, the Lady Warriors dominated the rest of the second half with a 53-20 beat down. So. Seanna Pinkelman led the team in points with 14. Pinkelman stated, “It was my teammates who set me up for all of my points.”
In their next game the Lady Warriors took on the Oakland Craig Knights, at the end of the first half, the Warriors were down 21-14. After halftime the Warriors were looking for a comeback. They held the Knights to only 10 points in the 3rd quarter. With Sr. Sammie Allen hitting 1000 career points, the Warriors were in the lead going into the fourth quarter with a score of 32-31.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment. I’ve worked very hard to reach that goal of mine and I am super proud of myself.” Ultimately the Warriors fell short after running into turnover trouble and, sadly, ending with a final score of 45-49.
After their heartbreaking loss in the semis, The Lady Warriors faced the GACC Blue Jays for the third time this year.
The Lady Warriors came out swinging and quickly amassed a 14-5 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter both teams were scoring slow and went into halftime with the Lady Warriors leading 25-14. Coming out of half the Blue Jays started to close the gap, but the Warriors still held a 33-26 lead going into the fourth.
In the end the Warriors were able to edge out the Blue Jays 52-45 to finish third in the C-2 state tournament. Sr. Cassie Allen led the team with 18 points. Allen quoted, “My teammates found me when I was open and just shot the ball with confidence.”
Coach Moon stated that she is super proud of the girls especially the seniors on how the season ended, obviously it was not the ending she wanted but was glad they could end on a win. She was also happy that throughout the season the team showed growth, leadership, and just had fun all season long.
More pictures from the state tournament can be found on page 8 of this edition of the Crofton Journal.