In Basketball, Skyline High School Girls' Squad Out In State Tourney, Losing 54-64 to South Kitsap

After punching a ticket to the WIAA state tournament, the Skyline High School girls' basketball team took a first round exit Friday evening at the hands of South Kitsap.

The team lost to South Kitsap, 54-64.

From the start, the Spartans struggled to find offense with the Wolves jumping out to an early 10-0 lead. The Spartans took control in the second quarter by taking the lead 23-22 with 2:47 to go in the half. But the Wolves closed the half on another 10-0 run lead by seven of Jackie Steiger's 15 first-half points.

Through the second half, the Spartans looked to senior Michelle Bretl who added eight points in that period and finished with 16. Coming down to the wire late in the fourth quarter, the Spartans brought the game within three 52-55, thanks to a 6-0 run with 2:12 to go.But missed shots, and turnovers kept the Spartans from capitalizing late.

"What it came down to was we couldn't execute in the last two minutes,"Skyline Head Coach Kevin Rohrich said.

With over a minute to go, Kelsey Callaghan hit a dagger 3-pointer that all but sealed the victory for the South Kitsap Wolves. 

"We just didn't have an answer for them all game," Rohrich said.

Although Skyline hit 18-of-19 free-throws, they went 0-for-7 from three-point land while South Kitsap hit 7-of-18 three-point shots.

After the game the senior Bretl, who was named co-sportsman of the game spoke about an emotional final game.

"They were just knocking them down with a hand in their face," Bretl said.

"We really battled back at the end to put the pressure on," she added. "The one thing you can count on with this team is that we will battle and we did as always."

With the loss, Skyline finishes the state tournament season with a final record of 15-7. South Kitsap will play the loser of Federal Way and Bellarmine Prep on Saturday, Feb. 26 for a trip to the Tacoma Dome.