The Cats hosted the Comets in this sweet sixteen playoff matchup, with a trip the Gill Coliseum on the line. Making it to Gill is a huge accomplishment for any team, but especially the Cats, as the program hasn’t seen that court since 2012.

Before tipoff, the gym was roaring with energy. The Comets had a lot of fans make the long trip up here to watch there girls play in potentially their last game of the season, and they were loud! But, the Cats amazing student section and Parents responded even louder and we knew we were about to witness something special.

The Cats struggled a little bit out of the gate and handed over an early 10 point lead. But as the first half neared to a close, the Cats had fought back and found themselves only down by two at half. The Wilsonville starters (Cydney Gutridge, Kayla Heib, Reese Timm, Sydney Burns, and Teagan McNamee) seemed to be playing with a chip on their shoulder, providing an extra spark whenever the Cats needed it.

Coming out of the locker room, the Cats were energized and ready to take over this game, but so were the Comets. The game went back and forth as the Comets would soon outscore the Cats in the third quarter to build on their two point halftime lead. In the fourth quarter, the game was once again neck and neck. Wilsonville would make a run and close the gap to tie up the game and actually take the lead, but every time Wilsonville took control, the Comets stayed composed and executed offensively to regain the lead. The Comets would soon make a few huge shots off of a few Wilsonville mistakes that would send the Comets away with this first round playoff victory. 65-58.

This isn’t anything to hang your head on though, Wildcat fans. The Cats only have one senior (Jessica Classen) who unfortunately will not be returning to the team next year, but that means our incredibly talented junior cast will be seniors, and our very talented underclassmen will be ready after this years experience. The Cats are projected to make something very special happen next Basketball season. So, all we can do is hang our heads high, accept defeat, and use this as motivation for next season.

I wanted to give senior, Jessica Classen her own section here at the bottom, because she means a lot to this program and will be dearly missed next season. Jessica will be attending Washington state university in the fall and is planning to study basic medical sciences and become a physician assistant in the future. Jessica stated, “this season has been full of great memories and beginnings of new friendships that will last forever. I’ll never forget wilsonville basketball and everything it’s taught me about being tough, working hard, leadership, and teamwork. I’m so lucky to have so many friends and family who have supported me through my journey with all It’s ups and downs. I’m so thankful to have been a part of this program for the part 4 years, and I’ll never forget wilsonville basketball.” Best of luck to you in the future Jessica!

Look forward to next season, it will be a big one! This is Stephen Davis, signing off on girls basketball until next year!