Fatima wrapped up a week of road games with a 2-1 record after falling Saturday to play Class 5’s fifth-ranked Carl Junction, 67-55. 

“We had a decent start to the game but we had a bad stretch at the end of the first and beginning of the second quarter where we had some uncharacteristic turnovers and let CJ get loose offensively,” said Coach Matt Baker, his team trailing by 23 at the half. “The good news was that we came storming back and had the ball down eight with around three minutes to go. Obviously, we didn’t complete the comeback but I was proud of the grit and toughness our kids showed in this game. They could’ve laid down and quit. Three road games in a week and then getting down against a great team like CJ could have been an easy excuse but the girls showed a ton of heart to claw their way back into that game.”

Fatima won the third 20-15 and the fourth by a 16-10 score but it wasn’t quite enough to get over the hump.

Kaitlyn (KP) Plassmeyer had another solid outing, going 6-8 from three-point range in an 18-point effort. “She is really starting to come into her own offensively,” said Baker.

Morgan Luebbering added 12, Alli Robertson put in six, Lucy Crede, Ellie Brune, and Claire Bexten scored three apiece, and Anna Eichholz posted two. Robertson’s eight assists led the way as Brune and Eichholz each dished it twice.

On the glass, Luebbering snagged a team-high eight while Robertson grabbed six, KP and Brune each had two, and Bexten and Vivian Bax finished with one apiece.

Emma Bower counted two steals and a block, and Luebbering, Eichholz, and KP each added a steal. Luebbering took a charge as well.

On Thursday, Fatima traveled to Owensville and edged the Dutchgirls 47-45. 

“We had another solid defensive effort and held a really good team to 40ish points,” said Baker. “Offensively we had a tough time against Owensville’s pressure defense but we were able to do just enough to get out of there with a win. The bright spot was KP, who made five three-pointers in six attempts.”

KP led the offense with 15 points as Luebbering added 14, including two free throws with seven seconds left to give Fatima the lead. The Lady Comets buckled down defensively and kept Owensville from even putting up a shot in the following possession. 

Brune (trey) added seven, Robertson put in six, Bower (trey) scored three, and Eichholz finished with two. In the assists column, Luebbering, Bower, and Robertson shared the lead with three apiece, as KP added two, and Brune counted one.

On the glass, Luebbering’s 11 rebounds gave her a double-double as Brune snatched four, Eichholz posted two, and Bower, Robertson, Lucy Crede, and Caleigh Huot finished with one each.

Brune had a team-high four steals to go with a block as KP added three steals, and Luebbering and Robertson each added another. Robertson also took a charge.

In the JV game, Fatima won 34-31.

“The girls pulled out a hard-fought win,” said Coach John Fick. “Owensville made it difficult for us to get anything going offensively, but when we did they would have really good ball pressure and just caused us fits.”

The Lady Comets trailed 22-16 at the half. “In the first half, every time we seemed to have a live ball turnover, it resulted in a layup for them,” Fick noted. “They did a fantastic job running the floor. The huge focal point at halftime was just taking care of the basketball. Once we quit turning the ball over, our defense made it hard for them to score on us.”

Fatima continued to fight and pulled out the slim win. “Being down most of the game, I was super proud of our girls’ attitude to keep fighting,” said Rick. “Nothing about this game was easy for them. It was just a hard-fought, mentally grinding 28 minutes of basketball.”

Kristen Robertson led with nine points as Crede put in seven, Madelyn Backes and Lydia Brunnert scored four apiece, Lilly Warren and Payton Wieberg posted three each, and Vivian Bax and Mia Kliethermes each scored two.

Overall, the Lady Comets went 10-16 from the free-throw line.

In last Monday’s game at California, the varsity Lady Comets came out with a 48-46 win.

“The last time we defeated California at California was in 2014,” said Baker. “We had the lead for the majority of the game and just ground out a win in the final quarter. Alli and Ellie hit huge free throws late that held them off and we came away with a nice road win. I was very happy with our defensive effort as a team. We pressed the majority of the game and I think this kept California off-balance offensively and they took some uncharacteristic shots.”

Fatima’s offense was balanced but Robertson led with 17 points, including a trey and a 6-9 performance at the stripe. Luebbering (trey) and Brune (7-8 FT) added seven points each while Bower (two treys) scored six, Crede (trey) and Bexten (trey) posted three apiece, and Eichholz finished with two. Brune’s four assists paced the team, and Eichholz dished it twice.

Brune collected a team-high eight rebounds as Luebbering snagged seven, KP and A. Robertson each had four, and Eichholz grabbed two.