Shiocton’s postseason run that brought them to their first ever State appearance, ended with a Semifinal loss to Aquinas 56-36. The Chiefs turned the ball over 19 times, and had a hard time with the pressure that Aquinas put on.
“Aquinas is an unbelievable team, they played better than we did and they deserve to be 27-0” said Shiocton Coach Rob Hendrickson. “We were prepared for the pressure, but we did not handle it very well. We did not execute as well as we should have. I felt we had a scheme that would work, but we just have to execute it.
Senior Jordan Elliot led the Chiefs in scoring with 14 on the night. Elliot said the team believed all the way through the game.
“There is always the thought that we could come back, and I thought we came out in the second half better. ”
Shiocton played well early, and even had the lead four times in the first half. Top ranked Aquinas eventually took the lead and held on with their strong defensive pressure.
“They were not just pressuring the ball, they were pressuring every girl on the team.
“That was something we were not used to this year. We were ready, but I think it got us” said Senior Madison Morak.
At the start of the season, the girls did not believe that this type of season would happen, but proved that hard work can accomplish a lot. Hendrickson said the Seniors not only made a difference this season, but helped the program.
“These kids have put their heart and soul into becoming better basketball players. These Seniors helped turn the program around” said Hendrickson. “Just four years ago, this program was happy with a ten win season, but these girls worked hard and through the years got better and helped get us our first State appearance.”
Madison Morak was asked to comment on the season, but had to hold back tears of both sadness and joy.
“We have had a lot of doubters and we went through a lot to get here. I just think we accomplished a lot by getting here.”
Shiocton was led by Jordan Elliot with 14 and Madison Morak with 10. Aquinas was led by Freshman Lexi Donarski with 14, Kyah Steiner with 13 and Jessa Peterson with 10.
Scoring:
Shiocton: Jordan Elliot 14, Madison Morak 10, Tina Ubl 5, Monika Spencer 2
Aquinas: Lexi Donarski 14, Kyah Steiner 13, Jessa Peterson 10, Madessa Collins 7, Kayla Bahr 5, Whittni Rezin 3, Maeve Miller 2