Lady Troopers district champs
By STU MERRY
The Garrison Lady Troopers are headed to regions carrying the No. 1 seed. They are District 10 champions.
That claim is seldom heard in Trooper town. Garrison has only been district champion once before ever. The first and, up until now, only other time the Lady Troopers could call themselves district champions was in 1996. The team eventually lost to Washburn in the region title game, 50-45.
The Troopers came into the districts with a perfect 6-0 record, giving them a first-round bye.
This past Friday, the ladies squared off against Wilton-Wing. Trailing 17-13 at intermission, Garrison outscored its opponent 31-22 in the final two frames. Ellie Gehring led Garrison with 12, but the team lost an important cog in the machine, senior Sarah Behles, who suffered a knee injury. Sarah was able to play more than 16 minutes before going down to the injury.
Advancing to the championship, the Troop faced a tough and determined Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky squad, the No. 2 seed in the district.
It was a battle between a pair of heavyweights. The game’s outcome wasn’t determined until the final minute when Maddi Nieuwenhuis drove hard to the basket for a layup. Adding the final touches was Ellie Gehring who also drove the paint, giving Garrison a 5-point cushion and the win.
