A-Town girls playoff week of victory, defeat

up and in:
Cubs Emily English takes it to the net on Tuesday. The Cubs lost to Central Valley on Thursday.

In true fashion, the Anderson girls basketball team's season of ups and downs ended in the playoffs with an extreme up and a disappointing down.

The Cubs started the playoffs with a nail-biting win against Wheatland.

After taking a strong lead in the first quarter, Wheatland started to creep back in the game.

"We played one good quarter and then let Wheatland back into it," Cubs coach Kevin Crye said.

The Pirates managed to take the lead for the first time early in the fourth quarter, and it was back and forth from there.

It looked like the Cubs had blown it when they trailed 40-35 with only 1:26 left in the game. But Anderson's Megan Leitem put them back within three points with 20 seconds left in the game. The Cubs got the ball back on the next possession and Emily English quickly ran it back for two. The Cubs fouled Wheatland right away, and they missed both free throws. With only 10 seconds left, the Cubs brought the crowd to their feet when they scored two more and captured the victory 41-40.

"We have to hand it to them for coming back when they were five down and not quitting," said Crye. "We were pretty fortunate to pull that one out."

Two days later, on Feb. 26, the Cubs met No. 2 seeded Central Valley (20-6) and were knocked out the playoffs with a 50-67 defeat.

Although the his team lost, coach Crye said Anderson played well.

"It was a very close game and at the end the score became more than what the game indicated," he said.

Although the Cubs didn't play badly, Central Valley players were right on the mark. Falcons star player Lala Forrest-Cawker managed a whopping 34 points.

"They can be one of the better teams not just in our league, but in our section," Crye said. "CV is going to be tough beat if they can continue to play like that."

The playoff week included the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

"We've been on both ends in the same week," coach Crye said. "

"I'm really proud of the girls, and I would rather lose wearing blue than win wearing any other color. I love being a Cub," he said.