The Westside girls basketball team punched their ticket to state after winning the A-5 district at home. The state tournament is always very competitive and all of the best teams go to state at the end of the season. All types of preparation are very important to ensure a long run at state.
The girls took on Millard West in their first game at state on Wednesday March 4. The girls always have a tough time with the wildcats, and did lose to them in the regular season. Coach Clark says that the girls prepared well, but some things did not go as planned.
“The girls prepared well for state, some things just didn’t go our way. At state there isn’t much margin of error and the really good teams take advantage of those,” Clark said.
The girls ended up losing in a thriller on Wednesday. They were up by 2 points at half time but ultimately lost 57-45 in the second half. Coach Clark is still really proud of how the season went.
“The effort, the attitude, the team mindset never wavered. We are very proud of the season the girls had,” Clark said.
The girls run at state does not reflect the amazing season they had before it. The girls had a 22-5 winning record and took many great wins throughout the season. They had one overtime win versus Papio, beat Omaha North at north, won their district, and made it to state. These were all things the girls planned to do and did accomplish.
Coach Clark talks about his favorite moments from this special season.
“The Marian “WarSader” game was a big moment and a lot of fun for our team.
We had a stretch where we went 7-1 which included wins against Marian, LSW, MS, LSE, and of course North” Clark said, “At Omaha North was probably our signature win of the season, and our district final win vs Lincoln High was the most important since that got us to state.”
The Omaha North game was so special to the westside girls, it brought them together, and overall was a great game.
“At North 86-82 had so many great moments, both individually and as a team. It was a great week of practice, everyone bought into and executed the game plan, and the kids were rewarded with a hard fought win! It was very cool to see how excited they were. A season of 22-6 and a state tournament berth has lots of great moments.” Clark said
With the team being so senior dominated with 6 on the team, Coach Clark and the girls will have to rebuild for next season. Clark talks about how he plans to transition his team after losing 6 of his high contributing players.
“We have 12 juniors in the program currently and also good talent in the soph/freshman class so we are excited about next year. It’s a great group of seniors that we will definitely miss- truly encompassing what a “team” is supposed to be!! ” Clark said
The girls ended their season ranked #5 by Omaha World Herald, with a winning record of 22-6. They lost the first round at state this year, but will be back next season to take a state championship.
