Prep Girls

the second quarter, but closed the first half with a 5-0 run — punctuated by a 3-pointer from Kaylee Padilla to lead 24-23 at the break.

Neither team shot well in the first half, as Berthoud made 39.1% of its shots while Lutheran made 31.8%.

“We had a great first half,” Gibson said. “We felt really good about where we were and how things were going.”

The second half, however, didn’t go the Spartans’ way. Lutheran held Berthoud to just five points in the third quarter while taking a 3629 lead. Berthoud led 29-27 before the Lions scored the final nine points of the period.

Lutheran extended its run into the fourth quarter, eventually turning it into a 23-2 surge and a 50-31 lead. A basket by Anna Flaherty finally halted it, but at 19 points down, the Spartans couldn’t catch up.

“In the second half, we just had a lot harder time scoring,” Gibson said. “We had a harder time scoring and then they got just a little bit of a run. That made us have to change our defensive philosophy or strategy a little bit. They hit some back-to-back shots that built a lead, and we were having a hard time scoring, period. We never quit playing. Execution just wasn’t what it was in the first half.”

With 1:05 left in the game following a basket by Gracie Flores, Gibson pulled his seniors off the court for the final time.

Three of those seniors led the team in scoring. Katie Vierra led the team with nine points while Reece Kraljic and Flaherty each had eight. Days before the game, they described the team as being like a family. Even when Lutheran began to pull away, they fought like one until the end.

“We always want the seniors, when their seasons are over, for us to be holding on tight and not letting them go, because that’s how important they are to us,”

Gibson said. “This senior class has done a fantastic job of leading. This senior class has done a great job of being role models for our younger kids. They’ve been connected. They’re a team within a team. You have to have that leadership from the top and the class of (2023) has been really special.”