EAST LANSING - The Hart Pirates made their first ever Div.3 State Semifinals appearance on Thursday afternoon but saw their historic run come to a close with a 57-26 loss to Hemlock.
Hemlock set the tone right away, jumping out to an impressive 21-1 lead after the first quarter. The Huskies forced 15 Hart turnovers in the first half as they took a 29-7 lead at the break.
Senior Aspen Boutell led Hart in scoring with seven points in her final game. Hemlock’s Regan Finkbeiner led all scorers with 24 points.
After the loss, the Pirates reflected on their run to the Breslin Center and what it means to the program going forward.
“Now that players like Asben [Boutell] and Abby [Hicks] have made this run, I saw so many young faces [in the crowd],” said head coach Travis Rosema. “We left this morning and the elementary school was packed. Every kid had a sign. So, a positive impact, it’s going to [have had] a lot moving forward.”
“The five seniors and Abby [Hicks] have played together -- since third or fourth grade we’ve been together,” said Boutell. “So this last game was a really cool opportunity to share with them and is something that we’ll always have. It was also a really cool opportunity to set an example and be a role model for those younger kids that were holding up signs and helping out with rec basketball for the third and fourth graders. We just set a tone for them and gave them something to dream for.”
Hart finishes a memorable season with a 24-4 overall record along with conference, district and regional championships. The team will lose six seniors and return eight players next season.
