Some say opportunity only knocks once.
This was certainly not the case for the Brookfield East girls basketball team as it missed out on several opportunities in its 43-39 WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal loss to visiting Racine Horlick on Tuesday.
Despite sloppy play throughout the entire game, the eighth-seeded Spartans had a chance to tie the game. They trailed, 41-39, with less than 20 seconds to play. But a forced post-entry pass to senior Marley Blood turned into a jump ball (Horlick advantage) and sealed the game with just 5.4 seconds to go.
"It's a tough loss," East head coach Tara Kielblock said. "If you lose a game where you fight and play really good, and play really hard, it's a little easier to lose, (but) we just didn't play good basketball tonight."
East turned the ball over 25 times and shot just 26 percent (12 of 47).
The Spartans fell behind early by shooting 0-for-7 in the first quarter with six turnovers, but got started in the second quarter to tie the game, 17-17, going into halftime.
"All season we've had trouble coming out intense," Blood said. "So, it's a shame that we couldn't have come out more intense because I know if we did, it could have gone a lot better."
But more of the same haunted the Spartans in the third quarter as they missed their first seven shot attempts on their way to a 10-point deficit.
"We always say, 'We got to come out strong, first and third quarter, we have to win that first basket,'" Kielblock said. "But we didn't, we came out flat and I think that was the tempo. We had a pretty good second quarter, but first and third quarter, they took it to us and they dictated what they wanted to do."
East trailed, 37-30, with 4 minutes, 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Laren Nashleanas capped off a 9-2 run with a clutch 3-pointer to bring the Spartans within one point, 38-37, with 1:06 to play.
A Horlick free throw pushed the lead to two points, but a loose ball fell into the hands of Blood and she tied the game at 39 with 44.7 seconds to go.
Horlick guard Shauna Galica responded by knocking down a driving bank shot that ultimately finished off the Spartans.
"You've got to hand to Horlick," Kielblock said. "They got the job done. It's just too bad because we didn't play our game of basketball. We didn't do what we needed to do and I know these girls can play better; it's hard to go out like this."
Blood led East with 11 points and nine blocks; Nashleanas also added 11.
Horlick's Galica scored 10 points.
Greater Metro Conference - The Lady Spartans couldn't hold off Sussex Hamilton on March 4. The Chargers rallied in the final quarter for a 44-43 win in the regular-season finale.
The loss left East in fifth place in the GMC (6-8). The Lady Spartans lost three of their final four games. It was the team's second losing season in a row, as they finished the 2008-09 season with a 6-8 record also.
The win helped the Chargers finish in fourth place with an 8-6 league record.
In the season finale, the Lady Spartans jumped off to an 18-11 first-quarter lead, but then only managed 25 points the rest of the game.
Hamilton rallied to cut the lead to 25-21 at intermission and 38-35 after three quarters. But in a defensive fourth quarter, the Lady Spartans held Hamilton to 9 points. However, they could only score 5 points, to lose by 1.
The Lady Spartans hurt themselves at the free-throw line, shooting .389 percent by only making seven of 18 shots.
Blood scored 13 points, which included a game-high six field goals, while Nashleanas added 11 and Lizzy Borkhus 9.
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