Lady Wildcats come up just shy of heading to the Class 4A state basketball tournament

Holton’s Lady Wildcats basketball team defeated the Jeff West Tigers during the regular season once in overtime on their home court and lost to the Lady Tigers once on theirs.

Meeting for the third time this season, in the Class 4A-DII Sub-State Championship game, on the Lady Tigers’ home court, was not a charm, however, for the Lady Wildcats.

After playing to a 36-36 tie after three quarters, Jeff West pulled ahead just enough to win the hotly-contest game, 56-48.

“I thought we became a very tough team to play but we were somewhat inconsistent at times,’’ said HHS head coach Jon Holliday. “Our last game showed that. We were great in the middle but struggled at the start of the game and somewhat at the end of the game. This was something we did all year.’’

In the Sub-State title game, Jeff West took a 20-14 first-quarter lead and at halftime held a 26-25 lead. Holton held a 11-10 scoring edge in the third to bring the game to the 36-36 tie. And then in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers had a 20-12 scoring margin.

“In the tournament, we dug ourselves a hole and climbed out of it. In the Hiawatha game, we played good early but struggled down the stretch. We struggled putting complete games together on a consistent basis,’’ coach Holliday said. “That being said, I think we were a fun team to watch. At times, we were really good. We played fast. Smetimes too fast.’’

The Lady Wildcats lost three games to state qualifiers this season – Nemaha Central and Jeff West.

“We also lost to one of the largest schools in Kansas in overtime,'’ coach Holliday said. “Before our last game, we had lost four games by a total of 7 points.  We also beat three state qualifiers including one in Missouri 5A (Nemaha Central, Jeff West and Park Hill, Mo). We were right there in all five of our losses, too. We also won several close games as well. All in all, it was  a  great competitive season for our program.’’

The Lady Wildcats finished with a very impressive 17-5 overall record.

There were three seniors on the team this year – Courtney Boswell, Alex Clark and Ashlyn Weilert (who missed much of the season with an injury).