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by Emily Wemhoff

As the final seconds ticked away in the Stars’ 51-31 District semifinal loss to Lee’s Summit High School, the two senior varsity players realized this was their last basketball game in a STA uniform.

Seniors Megan Lankford and Megan Lewis did not end the season the way they wanted with a loss to the Tigers Feb. 22.

“As the game was nearing the end, and I was looking at the score I felt sad knowing that I would never play basketball again,” Lewis said. “It was kind of unreal.”

Lankford never doubted her team could pull off a comeback.

“My thought was that is not over yet, don’t give up we still have a chance, just keep pushing through,” Lankford said.

The Lee’s Summit Tigers avenged last season’s memorable buzzer beater shot by junior Peepers Gray with a blowout win. They went on to beat Lee’s Summit West in the District final on Feb. 24.

The Stars, who finished the season with a record of 15-11, had been riding a seven-game winning streak, with notable wins over Notre Dame de Sion High School and Pembroke Hill School. According to Lankford and Lewis, the team’s strategy in the District semifinal was to shut down Lee’s Summit’s tall post player Allie Patterson and outside shooter Breana Washington, but they were unable to do this effectively.

The Tigers shot out to an 11-1 lead in the first quarter, and the Stars never recovered.

“The game was a hard game to end my career at STA with,” Lankford said. “It by far wasn’t the best game we have played.”

Varsity manager senior Shannen Freeman said the team looked “too excited and too nervous” during the game.

“They thought too much about the fact that it was Districts, not just another game,” Freeman said. “They didn’t play like themselves.”

Lee’s Summit, who led 24-6 at halftime, out-rebounded the Stars and had much fewer turnovers. Varsity player sophomore Maggie Herrington said her team believed the entire time they could pull off a comeback.

“Coach [Chance] Stephen told us that if we thought we were going to lose or thought we had already lost, it was going to be extremely difficult to come back and win,” Herrington said. “He was trying to pump us up and get our heads back in the game. [Coach Stephen] told us that he knew we could do it, and we just needed to play like we wanted to win.”

At halftime, Freeman said they would have to rebound a lot more, make their free throws and attack the basket in order to get back into the game, but the Tigers’ stifling defense shut the Stars down.

Lankford led the way with 10 points, followed by junior Becca Lueke with 8.

According to Herrington, the next season will not be the same without the seniors.

“I think it was a really tough game to end on, especially for our seniors,” Herrington said. “[The seniors] have both worked so hard this year to make us a good team, and I know how much we all wanted to win. [The team and I] are all going to miss playing with them so much.”

For Lankford and Lewis the best part of the season was the team’s great chemistry.

“We played like a team with no selfishness,” Lankford said. “Our team chemistry is probably the best it has been in my four years here.”

Although the season is over, Herrington said the team can look ahead to next year with the hopes of improving.

“Coach Stephens has already helped our team come so far this year, and I know we can do even better next year,” Herrington said. “We believed our team could go so much further, and it was heartbreaking to end the season this early.”