The Pirates have had a busy few weeks of games with the conclusion of league play and start of tournament games.
The fifth graders started on Jan.
31st with the Laurel tournament. The team finished the tournament with a very competitive double overtime loss to Lutheran High. The Pirates played 3 competitive games and are getting used to the higher pressure, faster paced play.
“The 5th graders have been plagued with injuries this year, which has changed the dynamic of the team. With only seven original teammates, injuries left the team short, causing us to bring up fourth graders for many of these games. This will help the girls play better together in the long run, but causes some tough losses now,” said Coach Mary Dougherty.
The next competition for the Pirates was the conclusion of league play and the tournament in Stanton on Feb. 8. The team went into the tournament in the 6th seed and concluded with a loss to Wisner Pilger 21-16.
The Pirates were led by Merrit Tarr with 10 points, followed by Brailey Thornburg, 3; Aven Torre, 2, and Shailey Orr, 1. Rebounding efforts were led by Shailey Orr with 5; Tarr, 4; Thornburg, 3; Aubrey Dougherty and Torre, 2 each, and Harper Stec and Raelynn Scheiffer, 1 each. Steals were even with Stec, Torre, Tarr, and Thornburg all with 2.
The fifth grade spent their Valen tine’s Day at the Clash of the Plains Tournament in Wayne. The team started with a close loss to Wayne, ending 9-8. Next, they matched up against LCC and finally Lutheran High to end the tournament.
The Pirates battled hard and learned a lot about more aggressive, faster-paced basketball that bigger tournaments bring.
Coach Lyn Stec reported, "The fifth graders are ‘small but mighty.’ Every opponent has girls that are at least a head taller than our tallest girl. Our girls are learning how to use their size to their advantage on both offense and defense. Their ‘might’ comes in the form of never giving up. No matter what the scoreboard shows, each girl is giving all they have for every play.”
The Pirates will conclude their season at home on March 7-8 at the Plainview Ball Backer’s Tournament.
Merrit Tarr shoots at the league tournament as Aven Torre, Raelynn Schieffer, Clara Steffen, and Shailey Orr rebound.
