Tuesday night was an unusual one. There was no school that day and the usual buzz of extra curricular activity was low. The action was set in Colorado Springs. This is where the Lady Raptors (No.35) were taking on the Liberty Lancers (No.30), in the first round of playoff bracket play.

The Raptors had nothing to lose. They came in as a lower ranked seed, and they were not expected to win.

The game started off slow for both teams. Three minutes in, the score was still 0-0. Then, things began to pick up and when Raquel Turner and Samoane Emecheta began to attack the basket, it sparked the ladies for the remainder of the game.

Jessica Stoner started off slow missing some threes to began with, but she soon hit her own pair. Their offense was not the name of the game for the Raptors, but life was found in their defense.

In the first half, the key defender was Calah Sewell who kept Liberty’s key player in check. The second half Raquel Turner kept that same player in check and she had the game winning defensive play along with that. Defense was exemplified through Taylor O’Brien, Jadyn Ross, Hidaya Thorton, Sha’la Wiggins, Jozlyn Hooks, and even Selah Ruckard. It truly was a team effort.

The scoreboard ended with the ladies having 32 and the Lancers having 30. The bench got up to celebrate, and even picked up head coach Robby Gabrielli. The stands full of Raptor parents began cheering and hugging. Amidst the celebration, there was a bigger reason for all of this excitement.

This was the first time the Girl’s Basketball team had won a game in the playoffs since 2008. As the scoreboard hit zero you could see the joy, relief, and happiness on Principal Gwen Hansen- Vigil’s face. It was a sight to see. The work that the whole team has put in the entire season has paid off for this exact moment. A moment that cannot be summed up in one word.

The Lady Raptors will continue bracket play on Friday as they will play the Number 3 seed against Horizon High School.