Ithaca pressure ends season for Highland

Coming into the season the Highland Cardinals had the point guard position well in hand with Addison Bedward.

But as fate would have it Addison went down with an injury and had her season ended.  That left a big challenge for the Cardinals to overcome.

One thing that is a fact of life in basketball is that point guards don’t grow on trees.  It takes seasons and reps to develop one.  The  Cards did not have that kind of time.

But they tried and improved until they ran out of time.

The Cards had their season ended Tuesday by Ithaca who advances to play at Shullsburg Friday.  They had beaten the Bulldogs the week before.

Tuesday wasn’t their night though.  The Cardinals saw a 16 point lead disappear but still led by nine at the half.  Ithaca then finished their comeback and came away with a 57-52 win.

Maggie Kershner was a big factor in the win. She had 15 points, all on three pointers, and hit the shots that gave the Bulldogs their lead.

Jacey Maxwell was also a force with 22 points and Tristen Peterson added 11.

The Bulldogs came out with pressure the second half and started forcing turnovers.  That was the key to their win.

“We didn’t handle the pressure,” said Highland coach Josh Tarrell.  “We got into panic mode and it took a while to get back on track.  They started hitting their shots and we couldn’t hang on.”

Freshman Adilyn Esser  had a 20 point night for the Cardinals and Kate Tarrell closed out her career with 13.

“I give the girls all the credit in the world,” Tarrell said.  “We had our ups and downs and faced adversity all year.  We had some tough losses.  But to their credit the girls hung with me and never quit.  I thank them for that.”

It was the final game of their high school careers for Kate Tarrell, Kaitlyn Miller, Izzy Washa and Yezlin Mondragon.

“I want to than them for their four years of dedication,” coach Tarrell said.  “They will be missed.”

 SCORE BY HALVES

Highland 29 23 52

Ithaca      20 37 57

BOX SCORE:

HIGHLAND 52: (fg-ft-tp) A. Esser 8-2-20, K. Tarrell 4-5-13, C. Oleson 4-0-8, S. Tarrell 1-4-6, B. Bollant 1-0-3, K. Miller 0-2-2, S. Halverson 0-0-0, C. Fritsch 0-0-0, H. Kohout 0-0-0, I. Washa 0-0-0. Totals 18-13/22-52. Fouls- 18.

ITHACA 57: J. Maxwell 8-6-22, M. Kershner 5-0-15, T. Peterson 2-7-11, H. King 2-3-7, K. Coleman 1-0-2, M. Pluemer 0-0-0, B. Dickey 0-0-0. Totals 18-16/27-57. Fouls- 16.

3 Point Goals:

HL- A. Esser 2, B. Bollant 1. 

IT- M. Kershner 5.