On Friday, the second-seed Lady Comets (15-13) vied for the Class 3, District 8 title but fell short of the team’s goal, losing to Dixon, 55-46.

“It was a hard-fought game by the girls; unfortunately, we got ourselves into a hole we just couldn’t quite dig out of,” said Coach John Fick. “It wasn’t the ending we had hoped for; however, we had a good season.”

Dixon dominated early, amassing a 14-4 lead after the first quarter and going up 20-4 at one point in the second quarter. By the half, the Lady Comets trailed 30-18, but that served as motivation.

“We had a few too many turnovers to start the game that we couldn’t quite recover from,” said Fick. “We shot 7% from the field in the first quarter and couldn’t get into a flow until after halftime.”

Fatima used the third quarter to stabilize and cut into the lead with a 12-9 advantage in the frame. The girls reduced the deficit to one point late in the fourth. “We just couldn’t quite mount the comeback,” said Fick.

On the night, the Lady Comets shot 34.1% from the field, with three made three-pointers and a 13-17 mark at the FT line.

Freshman Rylie Wieberg went 7-8 from the stripe and led the way with 17 points as senior Alex Berhorst (trey, 3-5 FT) ended her career with 12. Natalie Wilbers (2 treys) added six, Kacey Brune posted four, Adalyn Berhorst (3-4 FT) added three, and Casey Kleffner and Anne Boyce each scored two. Adalyn Berhorst and Wilbers counted four assists apiece, and Boyce and Wieberg added one each.

Wieberg also led the rebounding effort with seven, as Wilbers grabbed six and Adalyn Berhorst had five, followed by Alex Berhorst and Boyce, each with two, and Brune, who collected one.

On the other end, Alex Berhorst’s three steals paced the team, as Wieberg and Adalyn Berhorst added two apiece.

To reach the title game, Fatima defeated Belle, 56-49, in the semis after a first-round bye.

The Lady Comets held a slim lead early, but saw it slip away in the second quarter as the Lady Tigers won the frame, 17-8, for a 26-18 halftime lead.

However, Fatima stepped up in the second half, edging their opponents 16-13 to tighten the margin, then exploded in the fourth with a 22-10 effort to put the game away.

Overall, Fatima shot 41.5% from the field, with four treys and a solid FT conversion of 78.3% (18-23). The Lady Comets controlled the paint, outscoring Belle 22-12.

Adalyn Berhorst was perfect at the line (6-6) and buried a three-pointer as part of her 21 points to lead the team. Wieberg added 14 points, including a 6-8 mark at the stripe. Wilbers and Alex Berhorst each drained a trey and finished with five points apiece, as Kleffner and Brune added four apiece, and Brie Massman (trey) finished with three. Adalyn Berhorst had a team-high three assists, as Wilbers and Alex Berhorst posted two each.

Alex Berhorst was effective around the basket with seven rebounds, as Adalyn Berhorst grabbed four, Brune snagged three, and Boyce and Massman finished with two each.

Defensively, the team had several steals: Alex Berhorst (4), Wilbers, Massman, and Wieberg (2 apiece), and Struemph, Boyce, and Adalyn Berhorst (1 each).

Fick said he’s happy with how the season went. “I’ve been super proud of the girls all year long with how they have always been able to compete with teams in late-game situations; we just couldn’t quite pull it out this time,” he said. “We had some opportunities early and often, but didn’t capitalize on them.”

He added that the program will miss this group of seniors. “They’ve all been a part of a district title game in their four-year tenure. They’ve been coachable, resilient, and determined to get back to winning a district title; we just came up short.”