It hurt. It hurt to see the tears in the eyes of the girls–especially the seniors–after the Lady Indians’ defeat in the first round. But it also hurt to watch the game that ended the girls’ season on Monday night with a 58-61 to Marion County’s Lady Knights.
After Taylor County had defeated Campbellsville with a clear 73-38 it was time for number 2 seed Lady Indians to meet number 3 Lady Knights. From the beginning on both teams were playing on one level. Both with the same enthusiasm, both nervous and with a lot of misses and turnovers all over the game. After the first quarter the game was even 12-12, in the mid second quarter the Lady Indians even got a six point lead, but then trailing 26-27 at halftime.
Nothing really changed in the third quarter, Adair got the lead back, lost it again and hat the one point gap again with 47-48 after the third. Big ups and downs then in quarter four. The Lady Indians fell down to 47-52, but bounced back to a 54-52 lead. Then the young team from Marion took the control, after the Indians couldn’t take advantage of the free throws they got after the Lady Knights got their fifth foul early in the quarter. They took a 56-57 lead and defended it to the final signal.
“Throughout the season we struggled to do the little things and that showed tonight,” head coach Stacia Jo Hill said after the game and addressed the main flaws of the game: “Missing nine free throws and five layups down the stretch–it's tough for any team to finish a game like that. I felt our girls fought and hustled the whole game,” she added.
Coach Hill is now looking towards the next season: “As a program moving forward we have a lot of fundamental work to do to get better for next season.” Also she appreciated the support, not just by the cheerleaders and the band who went to Taylor County on Monday night, but to the other helpers too: “To all of our fans thank you for your unwavering support and dedication. To our seniors, thank you so much for your hard work and dedication over the past six years. Roll Tribe.”
