Lady Magic basketball team lose second game in national tournament, season comes to an endBy: Spencer Gleason
– Sports Editor
The Meramec women’s basketball team ran out of Magic in Peoria, Ill., as the lady Magic fell to the Delta Pioneers, 58-54, Thursday afternoon. With back-to-back losses, the Magic have now been eliminated from the double elimination NJCAA tournament and their season has come to an end.
Opposite of their previous game, a day earlier, the Magic scored first and often; jumping out to a lead that extended through the first half, 26-23.
“We felt we needed to make a statement as soon as we came out in the first half,” said head coach Shelly Ethridge. “[Delta] is a good ball club… They put that press on us which gave us a lot of havoc… We didn’t handle the pressure and a lot of times the press makes people play a little bit faster than what they want to play at; and that’s what happened to us tonight.”
Slowly, but surely, the Delta Pioneers pressed their way back into the game. Through missed free throws by Meramec and a few buckets made by the Pioneers, the Magic saw their lead slip away.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Magic found themselves on the short end of a 58-54 final.
Then the emotion began to pour out.
Unfortunately, in the world of sports, somebody must win and somebody must lose. However, the lady Magic’s 2010-2011 season has been unlike any other in school’s history.
In the final year of basketball being played at Meramec, the lady Magic have given themselves many reasons to keep their heads’ held high.
Amongst their honors, they won the President’s Cup for the fall 2010 semester. They won the most games ever in the program’s history (25). They won the Regions XVI Championship and they represented the Meramec family on the biggest stage for junior college basketball–the national tournament.
“I can’t really put this team into words,” said Ethridge after the game. “I just told them that they’re always going to have a special place in my heart and they’ll always be a part of the Meramec family. If they ever need anything we’re always there for them.”
