The St. Louis girls varsity basketball team competed against Saginaw Valley Lutheran Monday, Feb. 28, at Hemlock in the first round of Division 3 MHSAA Districts, and the Sharks fought hard but fell to the Chargers in the end 47-38. 

The girls fought well throughout the night as the score was tied most of the game with the Sharks being ahead at some points. 

The second half started fine as the Lady Sharks never let the Chargers grab a huge lead. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Chargers finished strong and out-scored the Sharks by 10 points to pull away with the win. 

Leading the Sharks on the night was Josie Schrot with 17 points, while Natalee Hoyt had 7 points and 5 rebounds. Kerrigan Wilson also had 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. 

Senior Kiersten Francisco stated, “We were able to play good defense on them, along with keeping them from getting too many rebounds because of their size advantage on us. Offensively, I think our team also played really well in this game. The communication that we had seemed better than other games too. Overall, we played a really good game and we fought to stay in it the whole time, but in the end, foul trouble just really stopped the momentum that we had.” 

Francisco is a senior on the team, so this game was very bittersweet to her. She stated “For me, being a senior athlete is the hardest part of this year. Playing in a game that I know could possibly be my last ever is such a hard feeling to describe. Before the game, I was very nervous because I really wanted to keep moving on, but once we started playing, my mind focused on the game. I am still very upset because I wish we would’ve been able to play longer, but I am also so happy because I met people playing on this team in a way that I wouldn’t have before.” 

She added, “A specific moment from the season was special to me. The first one would most definitely be making the game-winning free throws against Carrollton in our home gym. Especially after that, Nat came up and gave me a big high-five and the gym was just going crazy. Another thing that will always stick with me is the way that Knauf pushes us to be the best we can and he believes in us, even when other people doubted us. We had so many memories during practice with each other that I will never forget. Finally, a memory that will stick with me was at the district game after I fouled out and was sitting on the bench. Nat fouled out a couple of minutes later. She came to sit next to me, started crying with me, and just gave me the tightest hug. There are also so many other little jokes and times our team shared on the court, especially at practice, that I won’t forget.”

Leading the sharks all season in points was Josie Schrot with 207 total points. Francisco followed closely with 117 points. Francisco also led the team with 95 rebounds. Monika Borie led the team in assists with 66 total. She also added 43 steals. The Lady Sharks ended their 2021-2022 season with a record of 4-15.