The Atlantic Trojans girls’ basketball team fell in the opening round of the 3A Region 2 tournament 64-51 at the hands of the Van Meter Bulldogs on Saturday night. In a way, it was a microcosm of their season. Things didn’t start well, shots weren’t falling, and there was plenty of adversity. As they have showcased all season, the Trojans showed no quit. As the game moved along, Atlantic started to figure things out and had a very strong fourth. However, the deficit was too large to overcome as the Trojans’ season came to an end in the opening round of the postseason.

Van Meter owned the opening two quarters. Although the Trojans kept the game close early, the Bulldogs started to pull away. It seemed as if everything fell for Van Meter in the opening 16 minutes. Ella Rosic and Avery Banks were money from downtown, which in turn opened up the paint for Lydia Thummel as the Bulldogs outscored Atlantic 23-9 in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Trojans couldn’t find a rhythm on offense. Although they did have some opportunities, they struggled to consistently put up points. Katrina Williams and Makenna Schroeder both had strong performances in the first half but unfortunately for the Trojans it wasn’t enough to start cutting into the deficit as Atlantic headed to the locker room down 38-16.

The second half was much better for the Trojans. In comparison to the first half, they were faster, defended better, and pressured Van Meter forcing them into mistakes they didn’t make in the first half. However, they still struggled to completely flip the momentum. It seemed like every time the Trojans seemed poised to go on a run, Van meter found some kind of response. All seemed lost as the final minutes approached, but showing no quit, the Trojans finally flipped the momentum. Over the final minutes the Trojans shaved the deficit to single digits. Zoey Kirchoff found her scoring while Schroeder added a pair of three pointers in the fourth to bring her total to five for the game. However, with Van Meter in the double bonus, all they needed to do was be proficient at the foul line; and they were. The Bulldogs hit just enough from the foul line to keep Atlantic at arm’s length while the clock ran out. Despite a valiant effort at a comeback, it was too little too late as the Trojans’ girls’ basketball season came to an end.

Despite the loss, head coach Dan Vargason was proud of how his team pushed back late in the game.

He also thanked his seniors for their contributions to the program.

Looking back at the season, he though the way his group came together was admirable.

This Trojan team will look different again next season. However, the expectation of winning will not.