MELVERN – Unfortunately, all Cinderella stories do not have happy endings.
Such was the case for the Altoona-Midway Lady Jets, who advanced to the second round of the Class 1A-II Sub-State bracket here Monday night, only to be incontrovertibly banished by second-seeded Marais des Cygnes Valley.
The AMHS girls, who soundly defeated Southern Coffey County last week to advance past the opening round of postseason play for the first time in more than a decade, saw their season come to an end as the Lady Trojans rolled to an 81-15 victory in the one-sided semifinal contest.
MDCV, 20-4, advances to the sub-state championship, where they will square off against upstart Elyria Christian (12-12), which upset third-seed Lebo 44-34 to reach the finals.
The Lady Trojans and Elyria Christian will meet Saturday, March 7, at Hartford to decide who will advance to the Class 1A-II State Tournament next week.
For Altoona-Midway, the curtain closes on a season in which the Lady Jets finished with a 6-19 overall record, including the program’s first postseason victory since 2014.
“Our season may have ended tonight, but the girls kept up their spirits and never gave up,” said AMHS head coach Jessica Porter.
“We knew we were up against it tonight against Marais des Cygnes,” she noted. “They are a very talented team. They have a big presence under the basket and can shoot lights out on the perimeter too.
“We wish them the best luck the rest of the tournament.”
Despite the lopsided score, Porter was proud of her team’s improvement since the beginning of the season, and also proud of their togetherness.
