Kee girls basketball team battles State-savvy Burlington-Notre Dame strong for three-plus quarters but comes up short, 56-44, in first-ever State Tournament test
Team-high double-double in final game ... Kee girls basketball senior Mikayla Gavin swats away a Burlington-Notre Dame shot attempt in the Hawks’ 56-44 first-round Class 1A State Tournament loss to the Nikes Monday, February 29 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. In addition to this blocked shot, Gavin also paced the Hawks with a double-double effort of 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with dishing out one assist. Photo by Bob Beach. View and find out how to purchase this photo and more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on The Standard’s website, www.waukonstandard.com.
Anyone taking a blind look at the Class 1A State Tournament first-round match-up between the Kee girls basketball team making its first-ever State Tournament appearance and the team from Burlington-Notre Dame (BND), the Class 1A 2014 State Champion making its fourth consecutive trip to that season grand finale, certainly had their eyes opened wide for at least three and a half quarters of that mid-day opening round battle Monday, February 29. The Lady Hawks making their initial appearance on that big stage showed no signs of first-time jitters in playing to a 25-16 halftime lead over the more experienced Nikes, and held as much as a 41-37 lead with just six minutes left to play in the contest, but a turning of the offensive tables from the first to second half saw that nine-point Hawk halftime lead blown away by a 40-19 second half outscoring by BND spread out over double-digit margins in each of the game’s final two frames to result in a 56-44 end to another historic Hawk season.
The loss brings the Hawks’ historic season to a close with a final record of 22-3, those 22 wins setting a new school record for victories in a season, one game beyond the record-setting 21-4 mark set by last year’s squad made up mainly of these very same ladies.
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