The Arlington girls basketball team entered postseason play aiming to put its best foot forward.
“I think we just wanted to come in and play the best that we could,” senior Cassidy Arp said.
As a result, the Eagles (7-17 overall) went 1-1 at the Class C1 Subdistrict 6 Tournament in North Bend. Coach Luke Brenn's team bested Logan View/Scribner-Snyder on Monday, 45-38, before dropping Tuesday's semifinal against the second-ranked North Bend Central Tigers, 61-13.
Senior Stella Lewis' fourth-quarter 3-pointer against the tournament hosts was AHS' final bucket of the season. She finished the game on the floor alongside classmates Hailey Brenn, Arp and Kate Miller.
Another senior, the inactive Kailynn Gubbels, shared the moment with her team from the bench.
North Bend dominated the postseason game, but the Arlington team was able to share one more night together. Three Eagle seniors — Miller, Lewis and Brenn — shared how special their connection has been despite struggles with new injuries affecting the lineup again and again.
“The team really stuck by me and they helped me get through that,” Lewis said, revealing she went through a preseason surgery to get a chance to play this winter. “When I was having a hard practice, they were always there to pick me up.”
Basketball hasn't always been Miller's favorite sport, but those same teammates have kept her motivated.
“What's kept me going is the people,” she said. “There is nothing like the bond we have, ever. Nothing compares to it.”
Brenn isn't just close to the players on her Arlington squad. She was able to spend her senior year with her father, Luke, as her coach one more time. Less than two years ago, a perforated colon had threatened his life and their time together.
“Cherishing every moment with him has meant a lot to me, especially since he went through that surgery and we didn't know if he was going to make it,” Brenn said. “So, I just cherished every moment I had with him.”
Though the Eagle's time on the court with her father is done, she and her teammates aren't taking their experience for granted.
“I think it's a pretty special bond that we get to have,” Brenn said.
AHS tops Logan View
A day before their season ended, the Eagles jumped out to an quick lead against Logan View.
“We were confident,” AHS sophomore Taylor Arp said. “Before the game, we were ready to go.”
Freshman Britt Nielsen may have been ready to play, but not necessarily ready to score a game-high 17 points like she did.
“In warmups I was just bricking, literally, everything and I was like, 'OK. Don't give me the ball. I'm not shooting it,'” the Eagle said. “And then I made one.”
That long-range make helped Arlington to a 9-2 advantage. Nielsen's second 3-pointer later gave it a 12-4 lead during the 15-6 first quarter.
“I think we just worked really well on passing the ball around,” the 5-foot-10 scorer said. “Just finding open spots.”
After Miller's putback netted the Eagles an 18-6 lead in the second period, Nielsen called for the ball and knocked down her third 3 for a 15-point AHS lead. Coach Brenn's lineup would go into halftime ahead 23-12 just a few minutes later.
“Logan View was a really good rebounding team,” Nielsen said. “So, we knew we had to box them out and get some offensive rebounds if we wanted to win.”
A Libby Hegemann putback was worth a 28-12 Arlington lead during the third period before the Eagles stretched the advantage to as many as 17 in the fourth.
Logan View made a late push back into the game, but Taylor Arp's six free throws sealed the game and extended AHS' season.
“Usually, I'm pretty nervous (at the foul line),” the sophomore said. “I just get the ball, dribble it three times, take a deep breath and hope it goes in.”
The routine paid dividends Monday and gave Arlington's seniors one more game to be apart of.
