Kee girls basketball team mounts another postseason run, has State Tournament return snatched away in closing seconds of 40-39 heart-breaker by undefeated #10 Janesville
Kee girls basketball sophomore Makayla Walleser converts a lay-up in the Hawks’ 40-35 home win over East Buchanan in their Class 1A regional semifinals match-up Friday, February 17. Walleser led the Hawks’ offensive and defensive efforts with 13 points and four steals, respectively, also adding three rebounds and one assist in that game. Photo courtesy of the Kee High School Yearbook. View and find out how to purchase this photo and many more by clicking on the Photo Galleries link on this website.
The Kee girls basketball team was once again putting together another brilliant postseason tournament run this past week, the Lady Hawks winning 2.98 games over a six-night span to earn their third consecutive trip to the Class 1A regional semifinals and bring their season to the brink of a second consecutive State Tournament appearance. It was the final two-hundredths of that postseason journey, however, that prevented the Hawks’ season from going over that season grand finale edge once again and punching their ticket for a return trip to Des Moines, as they came up about 30 seconds shy of doing so.
The fifth-rated Hawks opened their latest postseason surge with back-to-back home victories last week, 57-30 over Starmont Tuesday, February 14 and 40-35 over East Buchanan Friday, February 20. Kee’s third consecutive advancement to its respective regional finals match-up looked to be well on its way to a second consecutive State Tournament qualification, as the Hawks held a double-digit lead early in the fourth quarter of their Monday, February 20 regional championship battle with 10th-rated and undefeated Janesville. However, a final 16-3 uprising by the surprising Wildcats during the game’s final six minutes included a final free throw with just two seconds left that, instead, sent the Hawks home, and not to Des Moines, with a 40-39 loss to end their season.
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