A great finish is one goal any coach hopes for with their team, and that’s exactly what I got on this night.  We went into our final season game and Parent’s night with a few goals.  First was beating the Bobcats which we lost to earlier in the season by a bucket.  Next, three of the players were striving to beat personal goals which we had set earlier in the season, and lastly was to improve our winning record to an amazing 12-3 season.

The night started out with a lot of excitement and never let down throughout the game.  It was a night where everyone made big contributions as soon as they stepped onto the floor.  The game went back and forth through the first quarter and looked to be headed towards a last shot game again.  But in the second quarter the Portagers kicked it in and went into the half with a 10-point lead.  At halftime I stressed to the team that we needed to keep up the intensity and they came out in the second half and answered.  They increased the lead to 12 points by the end of the third and kept it that way to finish the game with the win and a score of 44-32. 

Offensively, Danielle came out firing and led the team with 14 points.  Lindsay continued her scoring ways with 10 points.  Ashley was asked to move down for the game due to low numbers and her assistance was greatly appreciated.  She and Nicki were next in scoring with 7 points each.  Kelly stepped up at point guard and led the offense on each play, and she finished the game with 4 points.  Kaylan fought on the boards and finished with 2 points.

As usual with our team, the defense led the way.  In helping with her goal, Danielle finished with 10 rebounds, 4 steals and an assist.  Nicki also was shooting for a goal and finished with 7 rebounds and 7 steals. 

Lindsay grabbed 5 rebounds, had 4 steals and 3 assists.  Kaylan battled the boards for 4 rebounds and got a steal.  Kelly finished with 2 rebounds and 4 steals, and Ashley pulled in a rebound and had 2 steals.

Nicki, Danielle, and Lindsay all had a personal statistical goal they were shooting towards respectively.  Nicki wanted to top last years season high of 68 in steals, Danielle wanted to top 200 rebounds for the season, and Lindsay wanted to top 200 points for the season.  I was so pleased to tell all three of them that they had made their goals and their hard work all year paid off.

Once again I was blessed with an awesome group of young ladies who were willing to work hard and do whatever it took to get the win.  We did lose 3 games, but amazingly the total points we lost by from all three games added up to only 10 points.  The most we lost by was 5 points.  One goal that I had before the start of the season was to beat last year’s record of 9-9.  The team succeeded in that and showed true strength through the different obstacles we were faced with throughout the season.  I am saddened at the loss of the players that will be moving up next season, but I am also excited at the new group of young ladies that will help strengthen our future program.

It was another great season and I thank all the players for the hard work they gave in every practice and game.  Thank you to all the parents and fans for your support throughout the season.

Please come support the Lady Portagers as they move on to District play at Manistee Catholic Central next week.