Fatima faced one of the toughest opponents of the year and lost to Clopton, 63-34, on Saturday to finish second at the Montgomery County tournament.

“We told the girls they were going to pressure us, and if you could handle that, we’d be fine,” said Coach John Fick. “They quit full-court pressuring us after the first quarter, and I think our girls handled that really well. We had the opportunities. We missed at least 12 layups at the rim. And it’s not like we air-balled. It went off the rim, and they grabbed it and turned defense into offense. But when we did have open looks, we were rushing. Our feet weren’t set, so we weren’t taking high-percentage shots.”

By the start of the second quarter, the Lady Comets trailed 20-10, a deficit that expanded to 31-15 at halftime. The second half wasn’t ideal as Clopton used a 21-9 third-quarter edge to effectively put the game away.

“The second half is where we really kind of fell apart,” said Fick. “We had probably 17 points from missed shots.”

Alex Berhorst ran the point early and defended Clopton’s best player, who earned tournament MVP honors. “That’s a big task to handle,” said Fick. “Then you have to turn around and be the coordinator. I thought she handled it very well.”

Berhorst, who scored four points in this game, was named to the All-Tournament team.

One of the most telling aspects of Berhorst’s presence was how Clopton reacted when she was absent. “I pulled her out in the third quarter, and Clopton’s coaches told their players to increase pressure because she was gone,” said Fick. “Alex can go by anyone on the floor, but we have four good starting guards, and that was a big first test. I trust those four with the ball in their hands.“

Anne Boyce (trey) led the team with seven points, as Adalyn Berhorst (trey) added six, followed by Rylie Wieberg (5), Kacey Brune (4), Elise Dickneite (3), Natalie Wilbers and Anna Struemph (2 each), and Casey Kleffner (1).

Brune’s six rebounds paced the team, as Alex Berhorst counted four, Boyce and Wieberg grabbed three apiece, and Dickneite and Adalyn Berhorst posted two each.

Brune and Adalyn Berhorst counted a block apiece, as the former added two steals, and the latter had one.

Friday’s 52-49 semifinal win over Hermann required Fatima to fend off the Lady Bearcats at the end.

The Lady Comets saw their five-point lead shrink and then disappear as Hermann staked to a three-point edge.

However, Fatima forced a couple of turnovers and then hit free throws down the stretch.

“Once we got that lead, we didn’t need to score, but we knew they were going to trap us and read passes, but we were strong with it when it came to making free throws,” said Fick.

Wieberg came up big with four FTs in six attempts for her four points in the game. “That’s big in the last 30 seconds,” said Fick. You have to make these, and she did.”

Alex Berhorst hit a pair of treys and went 8-11 at the stripe to score 20 points to lead the Lady Comets. Wilbers (trey) added eight, followed by Boyce (4-5 FT, 6), Kleffner (4), Brune (2-2 FT, 2), and Dickneite (1). Wilbers, Dickneite, and Kleffner posted two assists apiece.

On the boards, Wilbers grabbed eight, Boyce had six, and Wieberg snagged four.

Defensively, Alex Berhorst paced Fatima with five steals as Wilbers added four, and Brie Massman and Boyce each had two.