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After taking down Hill City by a wide margin in the opening round of the Girls Class 2A State Tournament, the Valley Falls Lady Dragons saw their chance at a State Title slip away at the hands of the Moundridge Wildcats in the semifinal game. The loss did mean an end to their shot at the championship, but it wasn't an end to their season as they had a chance to come away with third place by knocking off the Meade Lady Buffaloes on Saturday afternoon.
The beginning of the ballgame looked like a bit of a hangover from Friday nights loss as the Lady Dragons saw themselves quickly down eight points just minutes into the contest. Valley Falls was able to battle back after a timeout to get back within striking distance, but a late Meade run allowed them to obtain a 20-12 lead after the first quarter.
Heading into play in the second quarter the Lady Dragons finally got their legs underneath them and off of six points by junior Ali Brown in the frame, Valley Falls cut the lead to just seven at 31-24 heading into halftime.
Meade then came out of halftime and went on another short run and with the play of seniors Tarah Wiens and Jaylin Stapleton, they were able to push the lead back to 11 points heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter then belonged to Valley Falls junior Callie Watson as she exploded for 11 points in the final stanza, but a 6 for 9 effort from the charity stripe allowed Meade to hold onto their lead and come away with a 60-51, claiming third place.
The Lady Buffaloes finished up their season with a 21-4 overall mark and three of their four losses coming to 3A Cimmaron who took second in the Class 3A State Tournament. Meade was led in scoring by the fantastic guard duo of senior Bailey Olvera who finished with a game-high 22 points and sophomore Jaylin Stapleton who finished with 18 points.
The Lady Dragons shot a much better clip from the free throw line in the third place game as they finished 17 of 22 from the charity stripe and were keyed by Callie Watson's 16 points, while Ali Brown finished with nine points and Lauren Harrington with eight of her own.
Valley Falls has plenty to look forward to next season as they lose just one senior in Anna Coleman who finished up her high school basketball career with two points and a fourth place finish at the Class 2A State Tournament and a 21-4 overall record.
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