Good Hope’s brilliant season came to an end Wednesday afternoon after can off shooting night led to a 46-38 loss to No. 1 Deshler.
Deshler opened the game with several quick points in transition to build an early 12-5 lead, but Good Hope was able to respond with threes by Heather Tetro and Ivey Mattox (her second of the quarter). Good Hope was able to bring Deshler’s lead to just to to close the period, 13-11.
The second was a combination of stingy defense and cold shooting. Both teams struggled getting things going in second with Deshler finishing the half just 1 of 11 from three. The Lady Raiders didn’t connect on a three in the quarter putting them at 3 for 13 in the half from long range. Deshler was able to grab seven offensive rebounds and 5 steals that game them enough extra possessions to extend their lead to four, 19-15, going into halftime.
The third went back and forth with Good Hope cutting the lead to five with 2:20 to play but ultimately Deshler was able to extend their lead to seven, 29-22. The Lady Tigers opened the 4th quarter on a 6-0 run that looked to put the nail in the coffin, but Good Hope other plans. matrix and Bailey Tetro hit back to back threes on a 8-2 run, then extended it to a 13-4 run with another five points from Mattox.
With Good Hope trailing by five with 2:40 Deshler was able to push their lead back to eight until Kyndall Seal drained a corner three to cut it to five once again with just a minute and a half to go. Unfortunately for the Lady Raiders they were never able to get closer and Deshler pulled off the win 46-38 to advance to the State Final Four.
Mattox finished with a game-high 18 points while Bailey Tetro finished with 9. Good Hope wraps up their tremendous season with a 29-2 record, county championship, area championship, and Elite 8 trip. And hears the thing, I heard chatter of Deshler winning this game by 20-30 points, but the Lady Raiders never folded and battled every second of the game to push No. 1 Deshler to the very end.
This group will have several returning players including the Fab Four of the Tetro twins, Rudi Derrick, and Ivey Mattox. Expect this offseason to include a ton more work and sweat in the gym, and expect them to be returning next season with a chip on their shoulder.
