The #5 ranked Whiteface Lady Lopes battled against the #10 ranked Gruver Lady Hounds in the Regional Semifinals Round of the 2A Division 2 girls basketball playoffs, resulting in the Lady Lopes losing in overtime, 47-45. The game was tightly contested throughout its entirety as each team made its runs, and they ended regulation tied at 39-39.
That back-and-forth trend continued into overtime, as the teams were knotted up at 45-45 with five seconds remaining. The Lady Lopes were set to in-bound the ball, in which they turned it over, resulting in a Gruver buzzer-beater layup to hand Whiteface a crushing loss and eliminate them from the playoffs.
“It was an intense, tough game,” Lady Lopes Head Basketball Coach Jason Blankenship said. “I’m super proud of the effort our girls gave last night and hats off to Gruver as they stepped up and made a play to win it.”
It was a tough result, but several Lady Lopes still had standout performances including Emily Blankenship with 14 points behind two three-pointers made and a 2/2 free throw effort, and Lainey Sanders with 11 points behind 2/2 free throws made.
Other Lady Lopes scorers included Kambry Sanders with eight points behind 4/4 free throws made, Abi Soliz with six points behind 2/2 free throws made, and Keyarah Castaneda and Gracyn Kauffman both with three points.
Following the loss, Coach Blankenship reflected on the conclusion of the season and what his team accomplished.
“It was such a great season going 33-3 and beating so many state-ranked teams along the way,” Coach Blankenship said. “Both years we were in 2A, we swept the district, which is impressive with the quality of teams that are in it.”
After a historic season in 2A, highlighted by three Gold Balls and a 29-game win streak, the Lady Lopes will be moving back down to 1A next season, seeking to be even more dominant.