MEEKER I “The game was closer than the final score,” Meeker girls’ basketball coach Greg Chintala said of the 42-29 loss to the Pirates in Olathe on Friday.
Meeker will open its 2016 portion of the season on the road against league foe Cedaredge, currently the team ranked No. 3 in 2A by Maxpreps.com.
The lady Cowboys found out that junior teammate Reese Pertile, MVP of the WREA Cowboy Shootout, will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.
“We are adjusting to losing one of our starters,” coach Chintala said.
Meeker trailed 15-7 at the end of the first quarter and then by 10 points at halftime.
Meeker outscored the Pirates 10-7 in the third quarter to pull within seven, but the Cowboys were only able to score two points in the final eight minutes of the game and lost by 13.
“It was a seven-point game with two minutes to go,” coach Chintala said. “We had to foul, they made them and we missed our shots.”
Maggie Phelan led the team with eight points, Halle Ahrens added seven while Anna Walsh and Julia Eskelson each added four. Megan Shelton, Kenzie Turner and Sierra Williams all made a basket. Meeker senior Jenna Walsh led the team with five rebounds and she gathered seven turnovers.
“We’re 2-2 going into the break,” coach Chintala said. “If we put a couple of pieces together, we’ll be all right and become a team people won’t want to play late in the season. I think we are in a good spot.”
