By Spencer Spilman.
The Clemens Lady Buffaloes basketball team came into the Lobo Den Tuesday night and spoiled senior night for the Lehman Lady Lobos.
Although the loss hurts for the Lady Lobos, Coach Jamie Coy was going to make this night about her senior players rather than her normal starting five players. All five seniors were announced before the game; Christina Ramirez, Aleeya Eskridge, Haley Vaughan, Olivia Marzullo, and Haley Rohde all made their way to the court with the crowd and their teammates cheering them on. The five starters came out with extra motivation in their final home game in the Lobo Den, and actually opened up an early lead.
However, the speed on defense and in transition was just too much for the Lobos in the end. As a team the Lady Buffs tallied 15 steals which led to easy baskets in transition on the other end. Lehman came out in a zone defense to attempt to slow down the Buffalo speed. “It slowed them down, but being behind made us get out of the zone because we were just running out of time,” said Coy after the game. Clemens’ Sabrina Catangal found the open spots in the zone and knocked down multiple three pointers and finished with a game high 22 points. Lehman kept the game close in the first quarter, but countless turnovers led to Clemens points and the Lady Lobos were down 25-38 at half time.
Lehman never quit and the Lady Buffs had no answer for Starr Rivers in the post. She racked up a game high, 14 rebounds to go with her eight points. Rivers played a large role in putting the Clemens starting five players in foul trouble. Marzullo hit a couple long jumpers in attempt to keep the Lady Lobos close. She led the team with 13 points, and added eight rebounds.
With the game becoming out of reach, Coach Coy emptied the bench and making sure every player saw the court and got some playing time. But in the end she finished the game the way she started it, as all five seniors came back onto the court. Eskridge and Marzullo pestered the opposing guards as they refused to let the season end. As the final buzzer sounded, the numbers on the scoreboard didn’t matter, and the crowd rose and thanked the seniors for all their hard work.
