The season came to a close for the Clarkson/Leigh Girls Basketball Team Friday night as the Patriots lost 41-25 to Blue Hill in the C2-8 Sub-State Final at York.
The Bobcats doubled up Clarkson/Leigh 8-4 in the 1st quarter. Both teams scored 6 points in the 2nd quarter, and the score was 14-10 at halftime in favor of Blue Hill.
The Bobcats won the 3rd quarter 7-5 to go up 21-15 at the end of three.
Blue Hill doubled up the Patriots 20-10 in the 4th quarter.
Head Coach Matt Murren sums up the loss. "It was a tight game throughout the entire game, never more than a 6 point game until about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Defensively, we played fantastic and really executed our game plan well. We made any and all baskets for Blue Hill tough. Everyone wanted it so bad and played their hearts out on that court. I couldn't have been more proud of their effort. Unfortunately we didn't hit many shots that night and that is a credit to Blue Hill's defense. We could never get in a groove offensively and couldn't get a shot to go to get in a rhythm. The 4th quarter started as a 21-15 game and we had 5 or 6 defensive stops but just couldn't get the ball to go in on the offensive end. Unfortunately, in basketball you have nights like that and for us, it happened in the sub-state final. The final score doesn't indicate how close the game actually was as we started to foul with about 3 minutes left to try to extend the game."
Clarkson/Leigh ends a great season at 21-4.
The Patriots have to be saddened and disappointed they didn't make state, but I felt like Clarkson/Leigh did everything they could of this year, and maximized their potential.
The season opening win over Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family and the comeback win over the Bulldogs in the East Husker Conference Tournament were victories to remember for sure, and wins over BRLD, Humphrey St. Francis, Pender, Twin River, twice over Stanton, and Battle Creek were big wins also.
Clarkson/Leigh says goodbye to a very talented senior class, including Hannah Kasik, Beth Wiese, Kaegan Held, Halee Steffensmeier, and Paige Moore.
These five meant so much to Patriot Basketball, and will be sorely missed.
Key returners include Kim Stodola, Ashlynn Novotny, Cassidy Hoffman, Alyssa Kasik, and Reagan Settje.
Murren says it was a season to remember. "This was the greatest season that we've had as a Patriot basketball program. The season didn't end the way that anyone wanted it to but the girls have a lot to be proud of and hold their heads high about. Going 21-4 with the schedule that we play is impressive and a credit to the girls. Finishing 3rd in our conference tournament (one of the toughest conferences in the state), winning sub-districts and getting to sub-state is a great year for any program. I am extremely proud to say that I was able to coach these 26 kids and watch them grow as a team throughout the whole year."
It was definitely a special season. The moment with Moore and her sister making that three pointer was truly inspiring and incredible.
Murren adds the senior class in particular was special and meant a lot. "This year's senior class put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to help build our program. They put in the time in the off-season to get better. We had multiple 3 and 4 year starters on this team that were seniors so they were a part of some tough seasons early on in their career and successful ones later in career. This group won each season from freshman to senior: 4, 9, 14, and then 21 games in their careers. That shows improvement and commitment to buying in what we wanted to as coaches and continually getting better each year. As a coach, that is what we wanted to see and seen the potential and it was great for them to have so much success their senior years. They were a fun group of seniors that will definitely be missed."
He adds this season put Clarkson/Leigh Girls Basketball on the map. "It's always nice to be recognized as a great program, that is any coaches goal. In all honesty, this year may have helped make a name for ourselves but our team's play has always been the same. We constantly talk about playing with relentless effort and going 100%. Those are the things that we can control as players and coaches and that's what I am most proud of. The girls played their hearts out all season and that means everything."
I think the Patriots will only build off this season and be a team to be reckoned with in the future as the next step is to make the State Tournament.
Murren says this season gives Clarkson/Leigh a big building block heading into the future. "This season was a great season. We've now had back to back winning seasons for the first time in program history and look to continue that. That is what we have been working on building as we continue to improve each year. The foundation has been laid, kids have experienced some success and should be hungry for more now. It'll be important that we continue to work hard on getting into the gym, working on our individual games in the off-season, and continue competing."
It's going to take a lot of hard work, determination, and dedication for returning players and newcomers to continue this great run this year's seniors had.
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