On Friday, March 7, the girls basketball team held their heads high as they left the school to go to the Denver Coliseum for the third year in a row to compete in the State Girls Basketball Championship. Unfortunately, Frederick (#7 in 5A Girls Basketball) was paired with our cross-district rival Mead, and after pulling off an early lead, Frederick lost to Mead 56-37.
Even though the game was in Denver in the middle of the day, the girls team still had quite the student turnout. Kate Hohs, a sophomore who attended the game, said, “it was fun, being in that environment, and hearing everyone around you cheering is super fun! And it just has a different vibe than any of the home games.”
At 11:45AM, the game tipped off with Mead taking initial possession. At the end of the first quarter, Frederick led Mead 15-11. During the second quarter however, Frederick started fouling. As the Golden Eagles Broadcast Network said on their Instagram page, “Frederick got into foul trouble and Mead capitalized.” By the end of the first half, the game was all tied up 24-24.
This continued into the third quarter with Frederick having over twelve individual fouls, allowing Mead to score on eight free throws. The third quarter ended with the Mead Mavericks on top 45-31.
Going into the fourth quarter, the team had quite a bit of ground to make up. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to recover the point difference that had accumulated in the third quarter. The game ended with a score of 56-37.
After a high-intensity season, the Frederick Golden Eagles girls basketball team made it back to the Coliseum, just like senior Zoe Wittler had hoped. While their season ended with the Great Eight, the team’s accomplishments did not go unnoticed.
When the Lantern interviewed Zoe Wittler at the beginning of the season, she said that her goal for the season was for the team to make it back to the Coliseum. While this trip didn’t result in a championship title, Zoe still feels like the season was great.
She said, “Looking back at our season, I’m just filled with a bunch of joy and pride for our team. Throughout the season, we had big team and individual successes. Through injuries and setbacks, we never let that stop us.”
The team had an astounding record of 19-7 overall and an almost perfect record at home of 11-1 during the regular season. Throughout the season they also had incredible win margins such as their 73-42 win over Silver Creek.
Still, there were some close margin games, like their one-point win over Horizon, 51-50. The team also had a few rough away games, including their 54-19 loss to cross-district rivals the Mead Mavericks. In the middle of the season, the team also faced the injury of star sophomore Izzy Howard, who suffered a knee injury, preventing her from playing for the rest of the season.
Despite these hurdles, the team made it into the playoffs as the number seven seed, playing their first playoff game against Pueblo County who were seeded thirty-fifth. Playing with home court advantage and with a strong, supporting Rowdy Crowd, the team defeated Pueblo County 67-41, allowing them to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
They competed in the Sweet Sixteen at home against Lewis Palmer, pulling away by the end to finish with a lead of 58-37.
After Friday’s game, even though the team faced a loss, there was still appreciation for the connections they had made throughout the season.
“We had a goal of making it back to the Coliseum, and while that didn’t play out like we wanted to, we got there” said Zoe Wittler, “but something that I love about that is that through the loss, you could see how much we truly care and love each other.
”We wouldn’t be crying and hugging one another if we were just at practice to ‘clock in and clock out.’ I’m very grateful for the friendships I’ve gained through Frederick basketball and will treasure them forever.”
