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   On February 20th the Storm Girls basketball team traveled to Cherry for a very important conference and section game match-up. The winner would win the small school division of the Arrowhead Conference and would more than likely be hosting the number eight versus number nine game in playoffs. The game started out close but Cherry quickly converted the Storm’s turnovers into points and the Storm found themselves down by 13 at half.

   The second half went a little better for the Storm. Changing up their defense a little bit by putting more pressure on Cherry’s guards created some turnovers that they could capitalize on as well. Unfortunately, it led to some foul trouble and the Storm couldn’t overcome the deficit from the first half. The game ended with a score of 46-62.

   Nora Wake led the Storm with 21 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

Charity Berg had six points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Madi King had six points and four rebounds. Vanessa Kingsley finished with four points, six rebounds, two assists and Jasmine Kingsley had three points. Carsyn Nihart had two points, four rebounds, three assists, while Maddie Barnes had two points, four rebounds and Ashlyn Schwarz finished with two points and five rebounds.

   “I think the pressure and the physicality of the game got to the girls. A lot of them haven’t played in games that really matter. It’s just something that comes with confidence and experience. Also, we turned the ball over too many times and did not do well offensively on the boards. We need to improve in those areas if we are to beat them the first round of playoffs,” said Head Coach Alec Wake.

   The Storm headed back to Cherry on Thursday, Feb. 26 for the first sectional playoff game. Unfortunately the girls came up short in a closer game and ended their season with a 50-58 loss over the Tigers. A final wrap up of the season will be published in an upcoming edition.

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