Spartans host West Seattle at 7 p.m. Monday for the playoffs.
Caitlyn Salo and the Bainbridge girls basketball team have had a frustrating season.
The team has gone through the ups and downs of losing close games to ranked teams all year while Salo has been out the past few games with an ulcer.
“I’m not sure what it was (from),” she said. “I don’t think it was stress (related) but it could have been.”
For her and four other seniors, Thursday night’s game against Holy Names won’t help their stomachs.
Bainbridge was behind for most of the game, then came back, but ultimately fell short by the score of 68-65 Thursday night at Paski Gymnasium.
The loss puts them at .500, but head coach Penny Gienger doesn’t want to hear that they’ve had a bad year.
“We’re (in) fourth place in the Metro League, but put us in any other league and we’ll be one of the top two teams,” she said. “The team’s competing. We’re just coming up a little bit short.”
The Spartans traded the lead with the Cougars for most of the first half, but fell behind in the third quarter.
Down by 13 in the fourth, they worked their way back as Holy Names went cold at the free throw line.
They cut the lead to three on a pair of Angela Failla free throws and made a defensive stop to quickly get the ball back, but a shot by Salo was off the mark.
“It was a frustrating game,” Failla said. “But Coach said we’re starting a new season now.”
The Spartans host West Seattle Monday at 7 p.m.
Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students with their ASB card. No season passes will be accepted.
If the girls win, they play Wednesday at Nathan Hale.
If they win again, they play Saturday at 11 a.m. at Seattle Pacific University for the fifth seed to districts against either Bishop Blanchet, Ingraham or Holy Names.
Tumbler gets first in Vegas
Bainbridge Island Club Gymnast Nathaniel Opalski placed first in his age division at the Go For It Classic at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev.
Opalski finished first in the Level 5, ages 7-9 division all-around with a score of 54.70.
He finished first in the vault, the parallel bars and the high bars.
The BIGC girl’s gymnastics teams also competed in the Go for It Classic.
Rachel Kaminer was named most valuable gymnast for the level 7 team. She placed third in the all-around competition.
Kaminer was first on the floor exercise with a score of 9.325 and second on the balance beam with an 8.75. Jaclyn Foris placed fourth in the all-around and third on floor with a score of 9.20. Foris also placed third on the uneven bars with an 8.7. Annie Zuckerman placed fifth in the all-around competition.
The level 5 team named Miller Shor most valuable gymnast. Shor placed fifth in the all-around, earning 31.575 points for the team. Marielle Summers placed third on vault with an 8.7 score and Grace Allen placed fourth on balance beam with a score of 8.5.
