THORNVILLE — The Washington Lady Blue Lions were charged with the task of taking on the No. 1 seed in the Sectional tournament, the Sheridan Generals, in a Sectional championship basketball game in Division II Monday, Feb. 14.
Sheridan won the game, 56-25.
The Generals led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter and 38-10 at the half.
It was 49-16 after three quarters of play.
Washington junior Allie Mongold led her team with seven points.
Senior Aaralyne Estep and junior Natalie Woods both scored five points. Both players hit one three-point field goal.
Junior Megan Sever scored four points and sophomores Calleigh Wead-Salmi and Alizae Ryan both added two points.
Sheridan (19-3), the No. 7-ranked team in the state this week in the Associated Press poll, had three players reach double figures, led by senior Bailey Beckstedt with 15 points. She connected for three three-point field goals.
Senior Faith Stinson scored 13 points and sophomore Jamisyn Stinson scored 11.
Three other players each scored four points, one scored three and another scored two.
Washington ends the season with a record of 4-19.
“Sheridan is a very good team and we knew that tonight would be a challenge,” Washington head coach Samantha Bihl said. “I’m looking forward to watching them make a long tournament run.
“It is always a sad time when the season ends, especially when you have such a great group of kids,” Bihl said. “This year was tough with injuries, sickness — you name it, we experienced it.
“Adversity seemed to define a lot of our season, but our kids continued to show up every day, work hard, and play through those tough times.”
Washington had one senior this year, Aaralyne Estep.
“We will miss Aaralyne tremendously,” Bihl said. “She developed into a great leader and became our top scorer. Aaralyne is a tough kid, always on the floor, and would many times defend the other team’s best player. We wish her nothing but the best!”
SCORE BY QUARTERS
W 4 6 6 9 — 25
S 16 22 11 7 — 56
WASHINGTON — Aaralyne Estep 1 (1)-0-5; Allie Mongold 3-1-7; Calleigh Wead-Salmi 0-2-2; Megan Sever 2-0-4; Natalie Woods 1 (1)-0-5; Alizae Ryan 1-0-2; Addi Shiltz 0-0-0. TOTALS — 8 (2)-3-25. Free throw shooting: 3 of 4 for 75 percent. Three-point field goals: Estep, Woods. Turnovers: 21.
SHERIDAN — Faith Stinson 4 (1)-2-13; Jamisyn Stinson 5-1-11; Halle Warner 1-2-4; Bailey Beckstedt 2 (3)-2-15; Kinze Miller 0-0-0; Abby Dupler 0 (1)-0-3; Ava Heller 0-0-0; Meg Saffell 2-0-4; Nora Saffell 1-2-4; Payton Powell 1-0-2. TOTALS — 16 (5)-9-56. Free throw shooting: 9 of 10 for 90 percent. Three-point field goals: Beckstedt, 3; F. Stinson, Dupler.
