Last Saturday marked the end of the girls basketball season, and quite a run they made! They won their district, punching their ticket to state, but ended up falling short in the championship game to Millard West with a score of 44-70. After their win against Kearney to go to state, they beat the No.2 ranked team, Millard North, 42-40 in the quarter-finals of state as the No.7 seed, which they barely lost to in the regular season. This win started their playoffs with a bang! They then proceeded to play Bellevue West, the No.6 seed 47-35. What they were able to accomplish this season went beyond people’s expectations as the last time that they had even made the state tournament was in 2020. 

Though they fell short, head coach Steven Clark is still very proud of how the girls went out and played throughout the whole season and state tournament. 

“Always proud of the girls. There are a lot of tears in that locker room and it shows how much they care and as coaches we can only ask that they put in the effort and the time, care about each other and it’s what they did,” Clark said.

Sophomore guard, Gueryn Kay, reflects on their season as a whole. She shares what they did well and what made her proud to be a part of the team.

“Our team did a really good job this year when we had ups and downs, like different teammates being out for injuries or whatever reasons, as we were able to push through and do better for the next games or by having other people who stepped up,” Kay said. 

Clark shared some things specifically about the state championship game that stood out to him that may have been the reason for the outcome that they had.

“Millard West is really good. I think anybody would have really had a tough time. But, we[Westside] didn’t play great and they[Millard West] played really well,” Clark said. “There were a few things in the stats that were comparable. We[Westside] didn’t play that bad really, we just had some shots that didn’t fall.” 

Another sophomore player, Jaydyn Macklin, explains what they, as a team, brought to every game, just so that they would be ready to play, especially at those end of the season games that really mattered.

“We brought a lot of energy and effort into games, especially toward the end of the season. Before a game, we joked with each other and boosted each other up,” Macklin said. “We found that instead of staying quiet and too focused, as a team we did better when we just had fun with each other playing the game that we all love!”

Bringing this energy to games was really important, as this energy is what helped to drive the team to play their best to get to that state championship game. Macklin shares what motivated the team to play so hard.

“Being the underdog in the State Tournament really pushed us and gave us a ton of motivation. Even getting to state was a huge accomplishment, so seeing how far we could go in state was our main goal,” Macklin said. “With our energy, team connection, and overall willingness to do what it takes was truly our motivation through the state tournament.”

Getting all the way to the last game of the entire girls basketball season is a huge accomplishment that anyone should be proud of. Clark expresses what this milestone means.

“We[Westside] were one of the only teams to play on the last day of the year. Only one team wins the last game and for them to experience and get a taste of state championship basketball, I think it will drive their competitiveness and compassion a little more,” Clark said.

Looking forward to next year, the girls team is only losing three players on their roster, so they will be a very competitive team next year as well. Kay shares what she will personally be working on for next year’s season.

“I plan to work on getting stronger and getting my shots all around the court to fall by working hard this summer and getting lots of experience through AAU,” Kay said.

Lastly, Clark thinks about next year, specifically how the loss of their three seniors will affect the team. He commends them for their hard work and “sticking through it,” Clark said. 

“Our seniors were great, always miss them, and these were three good ones that two years ago [our record] were 7-16 and now we are in the state championship game and it was tough. They stuck through it and kept fighting and competing and had a bunch of pieces fall into place” Clark said.

The girls basketball season is over, but their accomplishments throughout this season will carry them to next year and will not be forgotten.