Eaton Girls Basketball falls short in the Great Eight of the State Tournament.  The Platte Valley Broncos ended the Reds State tournament run on Tuesday, March 16.  The Reds, who were the six seed traveled to play the Platte Valley Broncos who were the three seed.  Unfortunately, the season ended with a loss 54-32.  Nakaiya Kuskie (21) said, “I think in our last game we just didn’t play together.  We fell apart once shots weren’t falling and we let that get away from us.” 

            Led by a talented returning group of upperclassmen, the Reds ended the season with a record of 11 wins and three losses two of which were against Platte Valley and their other to University. Kuskie said, “Our biggest thing that we improved on this season was confidence.  Everyone started stepping into their role at the end of the season.” 

        The team consisted of four seniors, Nakaiya Kuskie, Jisell Chumacero (21), Catelyn Adams (21), and Jenni Jarnagin (21). 

         The Reds winning season can be attributed to leading scorers, including Ahana Leffler (22), with a season average of 12.6 points per game. Kuskie followed with 8.7 points per game. The assist leader on the team, Jarnagin, with an average of 4.1 assists per game made it possible for the Reds to score. Leffler said, “We really worked together as a team and were always there for each other to make our team stronger.” 

        Defensively, Jarnagin also led the team in steals with an average of 3.2 per game, followed by Leffler with 2.4. 

As Leffler reflected on the season she said, “My favorite memory from the season was the Brush game because we played really good as a team to win and had fun while doing it.” Leffler will return to the team next year as a senior and said, “I will approach the offseason by going to the gym as much as possible to work on my game in every aspect to be ready for next season.” 

Also, as a senior Kuskie said, “It’s pretty sad, honestly, but I am so thankful for all the memories I have gotten over the years from basketball. It’s exciting to know I am starting a new journey, but I’m going to miss this team.”  Kuskie, looking back said, “My best memory from the season was probably around Valentine’s day when we were all doing fun activities as a team. It was nice to get off the court for a bit and enjoy our time together.”