Last Thursday, February 22, the GHS Girls Basketball team wrapped up their postseason with a loss to Tri-Valley in the second round of the Region 3 tournament. The final minutes of the game against Tri-Valley did not go Garretson's way, and the visiting team took home the region trophy.
In the first round of the region tournament on Tuesday, February 20, the Dragons came out on top, taking down the Madison Bulldogs 46-38.
The Bulldogs charged out of the gate, forcing Garretson to come from behind late in the first quarter. The Dragons took that challenge, and went into the second quarter 11-10. The athletes played a very solid game of defense in the second quarter, forcing Madison onto its toes. Point guard Jordyn Williams shone as she outpaced the Bulldogs, breaking ahead of their ranks and sending the ball into the net unchallenged. The Dragons went into the half 30-13.
In the second half, Madison amped up its offense, giving the Dragons a run for its money in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Though the visitors missed several shots at the basket, Madison gained on the home team before Garretson turned it around. When they did, the Dragons quickly gained ten points, and ended the quarter 40-31.
The fourth quarter saw both teams battle it out as they each denied the other team's athletes a chance at the basket. While the Bulldogs came within nipping distance of the Dragons' heels, Garretson remained in control of the game, and a foul on Williams with ten seconds left in the quarter allowed the home team to gain two more points as she sunk the free throws, ending the game 46-38.
Kylie Christensen was on point, blocking shots as the opponents worked hard to score. Tayler Benson tipped the nets with a couple of solid three pointers. In all, the team had 36 rebounds, 12 steals, 3 blocks, and a free throw conversion of 74%.
On Thursday, Garretson hosted the second round of their region tournament, this time taking on Tri-Valley. The competitive team stayed neck-in-neck with the Dragons until the final few minutes of the game, when the Mustangs managed to get the upper hand and ended the Dragons' season 48-37.
"The season ended on our home floor against the Tri-Valley Mustangs who we lost to by 1 in overtime in our 2nd game of the season," remarked Head Coach Matt Schrank. "This game was very back and forth. Our biggest lead was early by 5, and no other team led by more than 4 points until late in the 4th quarter."
The Dragons started the game in the lead, taking the first 4 points. However, Tri-Valley fought back and they ended the first quarter 8-6 as each team prevented the other from gaining many points. They went into the half 18-17, and both teams came back onto the court for the third quarter with fire in their bellies. Tri-Valley snagged the lead from Garretson as the teams continued to trade the ball, but a 3-point corner shot from Benson put the Dragons back out front. Tri-Valley tied the game back up, and they went into the 4th at 30-30.
Now in the decisive final quarter, Tri-Valley took the lead but Garretson continued to stay within spitting distance until the final minutes of the game, when several missed shots from the Dragons gave the Mustangs a strong gap to work with.
"Credit to Tri-Valley for hitting big shots at the end of the game," said Coach Schrank. "Our girls went cold and couldn’t buy a bucket late in the 2nd half."
The opponents took advantage, quickly gaining a 7-point lead, 42-35. In the final minute of the game, Tri-Valley gathered six more points to Garretson's two, and ended the Dragons' season 37-48.
Christensen and Williams were on fire as they stole the ball 10 times total (5 each) from their opponents. Fink and Benson led the game with 12 points apiece, while Sydney Olson contributed 7 and made five of her eight free throws. Benson took three of the five 3-point shots she made.
