Lady Cards End Season At State

It is inevitable that every high school sports season will come to an end.  In a perfect world every senior athlete would get to finish their career at the pinnacle of winning a state championship.  However the world is not perfect and only one team in the state gets to finish that way and this year was not the Lady Cardinals year to do so.  That being said, not winning a state championship does not mean the season was a failure.  This group of Lady Cardinals saw tremendous growth throughout the season and should look back on the year with fondness and pride.

Last week the Lady Cardinals made the annual trip to Boise to participate in the state tournament.  It is a trip that the program and community has become accustomed to making every year.  Without going and researching it I would dare say that Soda Springs has one of the longest running stints in the state for qualifying for the state tournament.  That alone is a testament of the work ethic and culture surrounding the program.  Unfortunately this year the Lady Cardinals would have to settle for that moral victory rather than grabbing any wins in the tournament.

The Cardinals started their tournament taking on a very tough Parma Panther team in the first round.  At the start of this game neither team seemed to be able to get into any type of offensive flow.  Midway through the first quarter the score was just six to two in favor of the Panthers.  It was apparent early on in the game that the officials were going to allow a lot of contact between players.  With Parma holding a significant size advantage this did not favor the Cardinals.  Parma used their size by controlling the boards early which began to lead to some transition points and by the end of the first the Cardinals were already in a ten point hole.  The Cardinals would attempt to go to one of their strengths in the second period by putting up several shots from beyond the arc but every one of them would rim out and fail to drop.  By the time halftime rolled around the Cardinals had fallen further behind and had failed to reach double digits on the scoreboard.  Soda Springs started the second half looking like their old selves scoring five quick points.  Sadly that is all they would accomplish to score over the next nine and a half minutes of game time.  In the fourth there was very little doubt that Parma would be advancing in the tournament while the Cardinals were destined for the consolation side of the bracket.  Late in the game Soda Springs put in some younger girls and had their highest scoring quarter of the game but it was far too little too late. Soda Springs dropped their first round game by twenty-five points.  The Panthers would go on to win the state title two days later.

In round two on the consolation side of the bracket the Cardinals had a more favorable match up with the New Plymouth Lady Pilgrims.  As this game got started the Cardinals defense was the story of the game.  Soda Springs' pressure defense caused several early turnovers and didn't allow the Pilgrims to attempt a shot in the first minute and a half of play.  Unfortunately the cold shooting from the Cardinals continued.  Before they knew it the Cardinals were trailing eight to one.  Soda Springs started the game going just one for six from the foul line but were able to finish the quarter strong.  Now trailing by four the Cardinals came out of the first break with renewed energy and the game tightened up.  Soda Springs was able to grab a brief lead then the teams seesawed back and forth and the quarter ended with the Cardinals trailing by just a single point.  The second half started much the same way that the first half had ended.  The scoring continued to go back and forth with some ties along the way.  Towards the end of the third the Cardinals began to fall apart a little and allowed the Pilgrims to go on a seven to zero run.  Sadly the fourth quarter did not improve for Soda Springs.  The play was a little sloppy by both teams and the Cardinals were unable to make a comeback.  Soda Springs was eliminated from the tournament and their season came to an end in one fell swoop.

The Cardinals will lose two of their top players to graduation.  Abby Goodin and Gracie Moldenhauer were incredible leaders for the Cardinals this season and will be sorely missed next year.  On the positive side the Cardinals will return a great group of junior players as well as some good underclassmen girls from the JV squad.  The Cardinals will be in contention again next season to keep the tradition of qualifying for state alive for the Soda Springs faithful.

Cardinals 2 5 5 12 24

Panthers 12 13 13 11 49

G.Moldenhauer 3, R.Harris 6, M.Kempe 3, J.Rasmussen 3,
H.Mumford 1, J.Parker 8

Cardinals 6 12 11 7 36

Pilgrims 10 9 15 14 48

C.Gronning 7, A.Goodin 14, G.Moldenhauer 3, R.Harris 3, M.Kempe 4, E.Wood 3, A.Skinner 2