In the face of adversity, Lauren Herman doesn’t let two Yuma defenders stop her from getting to the basket. The sophomore was the point leader in both district games last weekend at NJC. — The Holyoke Enterprise | Johnson Publications
Girls battle for district title
It may not have been pretty, but the Holyoke Lady Dragon basketball team battled it out for two wins in the district tournament last weekend at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling.
After a bye in the first round on Tuesday, Feb. 25, a 41-38 win over Wray in the semifinal Friday, Feb. 28, and a 32-22 victory over Yuma in the championship earned Holyoke the title of district champs.
It also gave the girls the privilege to host the regional tournament Friday-Saturday, March 6-7. It’s something that coach John Baumgartner doesn’t think has happened before, because until recently, regionals were played at neutral sites.
Holyoke, with a 20-1 record, will go into regionals with the No. 1 seed. At 6 p.m. Friday, they play No. 32 Lotus School for Excellence, a charter school in Aurora that has a 13-4 record this season.
Following that game, No. 16 Denver Christian (14-8) will play No. 17 Soroco (14-8).
The two winners from Friday will play in the regional championship Saturday at 1 p.m. for the chance to be one of eight teams in the state tournament.
Holyoke 41, Wray 38
Friday’s district semifinal was the third time Holyoke and Wray have played this season. In Wray in December, Holyoke won 49-31, followed by another Holyoke 70-57 win on their home court in January.
Baumgartner said he gives Wray credit for adjusting their defense in the district semifinals, calling the game “a battle.” The girls had shots, and they just didn’t make them, he added.
In the first quarter, Holyoke went up 9-3, but then Wray came back to take the lead 10-9. Holyoke put up another five points to lead 14-11 at the end of the period. Lauren Herman helped spur the momentum with eight points in the first.
The second quarter started off tied 14-14 and then 17-17. Holyoke eventually widened the gap to enter halftime with the 28-21 lead. Herman dominated the quarter with 12 out of Holyoke’s 14 points, including two 3-pointers for the sophomore.
The third period was another story altogether. Holyoke remained scoreless while Wray added 11 points to take the lead 32-28.
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