The girls’ basketball team entered Blue Springs High School Thursday, March 1, carrying with them high hopes to clinch yet another district championship. In the past years, the Lady Bruins have dominated postseason play, establishing themselves early on and earning the district championship title.
Unexpectedly, however, the Lady Bruins fell to Blue Springs 52-34 in heartbreaking fashion, abruptly ending their postseason campaign. Nobody on the team, including senior Katey Klucking, had expected the game to turn out like it did.
“We were pretty confident and ready but not overconfident,” Klucking said. “We were prepared [and] our shots had been great in practice and we had been running the offense really well. We focused on getting great shots.”
From the tipoff to the final buzzer, Blue Springs dominated RBHS, clinching a large lead early on. The Wildcats hit shot after shot, leading the game 16-9 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter created an even greater gap between the two teams; Blue Springs lead RBHS 31-13 at halftime.
Throughout the game, RBHS only scored one shot beyond the arc out of 24 attempts. Usually strong from the three, many players were frustrated at the Lady Bruins’ ill-timed shooting slump.
“Our press in the front court was our strength for the game, but our weakness was our three pointers,” senior Kanisha Green-McClain said. “It was very shocking to us because over the season we were a great three point shooting team.”
The story of the second half mirrored that of the first; Blue Springs continued to drain shots, while the Lady Bruins struggled with their shooting as a team. At one point, Blue Springs led RBHS 44-19.
Tears were shed and emotions were high for the Lady Bruins as the final buzzer sounded. Many were upset for the season to end on such a tough note, especially for the graduating seniors, who played their final high school game last night. Even then, Klucking is satisfied with how her high school career turned out, along with the rest of the team.
“I’m super happy and blessed that I was able to wear a Rock Bridge jersey for four years,” Klucking said. “This program has been an amazing experience and I feel lucky. Playing with the four other seniors has been a journey and I wouldn’t have wanted to do it with anyone else.”