next move as she attempts to keep her team in the game Thursday at Maple Grove. | Photo by Michael Toquam
Irondale girls basketball team loses quarterfinal game
Knights end their 2022–2023 season with a 3–24 record.
By Elle Young | Reporter
Irondale High School’s girls basketball team went into its sectional tournament as the №8 seed, facing off against №1 seed Maple Grove High School on Maple Grove’s home court Friday. Irondale, after trailing 41–14 in the first half, ended up losing 81–17, ending its season.
“Obviously the score didn’t reflect it,” Sophomore guard Isabella Gibbons said, “but I thought we fought and competed as well as we could have.”
The Knights were at a disadvantage going into this game, playing against the best team in their section. This disadvantage was obvious from the jump ball. Through the first half, the crimson caused many Knight turnovers leading to Maple Grove scoring 41 points in the first half and 40 points in the second half.
“It’s going better than I thought it would,” — Jennifer Rahman, athletic trainer
With the standings before the beginning of this game, it was expected that the Crimson would demolish the Knights in this game, and at half time, losing 41–14, the score showed that. But, in talking to spectators, they were still impressed with the Knight’s performance.
“It’s going better than I thought it would,” Athletic Trainer Jennifer Rahman said.
Even the more critical spectators were looking at the first half through a positive lens to try to think of how the Knights could pull out of their 27-point deficit.
“I see progress.” Boys Basketball coach Trent Davis said during halftime, “It will be good if we can score a lot of points and hold them under 80.”
Maple Grove’s Kate Holmquist and Lexi Hanna Thursday at Maple Grove High School. | Photo by Michael Toquam
Senior Paige Kiani scored six points in the game, the highest scoring on the Irondale team. She was playing for most of the game and even showed off with a block near the end of the first half. This is her last game playing competitive basketball for Irondale and she reminisces on the 12 years she spent playing within the Irondale basketball program after the game.
As shown by the final score, the Knights were unable to score many points or hold the Crimson under 80 points during the second half. But the Knights have made progress through the season and are looking forward to next season where they have another chance at proving themselves a worthy competitor in this section.
“Our record really doesn’t show it,” Gibbons said, “but we’ve improved a lot throughout the season and have great things to come next year.”
free throw Thursday at Maple Grove High School. | Photo by Michael Toquam
