On Saturday, February 8, the Strath Haven girls basketball team(11-12) hosted Academy Park (12-10) for their last matchup before playoffs.
Before the game, the team had a heartfelt ceremony honoring their seniors: Madison Benzing, Kate Fox, Maryella Gill, and Olivia Voshell.
“It’s definitely not going to be the same,” junior Annika Slootmaker said. “I’ve been playing with them for so long I can’t imagine playing without them.”
Slootmaker has played basketball since freshman year as a swing and played SRS with all of the seniors. While she is sad to see them go, she is excited to see how the team will grow, and the lasting impact the seniors made on this team.
The four seniors along with freshman Mackenzie Fanning started the game with the first points scored by Kate Fox with an assist by freshman Maddie Fanning. The Panthers were down after the first quarter 10-14.
The defense picked up with steals from Maryella Gill, Olivia Voshell, Maddie Fanning, and Madison Benzing, and rebounds from freshman Ellie O’Connor, Maddie Fanning, and Kate Fox. The Panthers continued to close the gap with a score of 17-24 at the end of the first half.
After halftime, the Lady Panthers struggled offensively but worked to keep themselves in the game.
“Adjusting to their offense key players was our biggest priority,” Gill said. “ We needed to make better play on offense and take advantage of better opportunities.”
The Lady Panthers did just that with 19 points in the fourth quarter making it an almost tie game but came up short with a score of 50-52.
Haven’s top scorers were Voshell with 19 points and Maddie Fanning with 17. O’Connor, Gill, Mackenzie Fanning, and Fox also with points trying to close the gap.
“There were definitely some mistakes and messed up shot selection,” Voshell said. “But I think we really left it all out there, I can’t look back and say we didn’t try and do our best.”
Academy Park and Strath Haven will verse again in the first game of the playoffs as the 11th and 12th seeds in the Central League at home on Friday, February 14 at 7 p.m.
