“I would not have asked for anything more for my senior year.”
Shayna Slorf said, as she looked back at her final season of high school basketball after her team was defeated, 57-48 by Fountain Fort-Carson in the first round of the CHSAA 5A State Playoffs. The Bulldogs season came to an end Tuesday night, but not before they racked up 15 wins on year, under the new direction of head coach, Jim French, who was given the job just 6 weeks before the season kicked off. The team finished the season winning 8 out of their last 10 regular season games, including a big win over rival Prairie View, 53-34, a testament to the growth French showed in his first year as the head coach.
“It’s been a great year, especially after I took the job only 6 weeks before season started,” French said. “We played good ball to end the year, winning 7 straight, but this is not the way we wanted it to end.”
The Bulldogs never got into a rhythm. Fountain Fort-Carson captured the lead early, and never looked back. For a short stretch in the second quarter, when Slorf caught fire from three, hitting three straight from deep, the Bulldogs held a small lead. It wouldn’t last long though, as a constant stream of turnovers gave the Trojans a chance to take the lead back. Those turnovers would come back to haunt the Bulldogs, as they would be evident all night.
“We weren’t working as a team at all and in the end, it showed when we didn’t come out on top in a game we should of won, without a doubt,” Slorf said.
The team struggled to get anything going on offense, something French says was a combination of troubles that struck the Bulldogs.
“We struggled tonight running the offense we wanted to run and I tip my cap to them [Fountain Fort-Carson] for knocking us off of our game. We weren’t protecting the ball and we weren’t as disciplined at times and that’s a direct refection of me,” French said.
Discipline was hard to come by for Brighton, as both Kaylah Lewis and Mackenzie Dent found themselves in foul trouble with two quick fouls in the first quarter. Fountain Fort-Carson took advantage of the abundance of fouls early on, holding a 27-22 lead at halftime despite not registering a made shot from the field for more than half the 2nd quarter. That defensive stand by the Bulldogs was one of the lone bright spots on the night.
“Our communication on the defensive end was clicking on all cylinders in the 2nd quarter and it kept us on track despite the fouls,” Slorf said.
While the team was clicking on defense, they couldn’t find the same rhythm on offense. Slorf had 22 points on the night and her teammate Lewis had 16. The 22 points she poured in on the night were a bright spot for the senior.
“I tried my best to help out as much as I could and tonight it was especially nice to contribute,” Slorf said.
Slorf’s contributions didn’t go unnoticed by her coach who credits her shooting talents to her success.
“Shayna [Slorf] is a tremendous talent, a truly gifted shooter and whenever she gets any space, she’s going to knock it down for our team,” French said.
Despite Slorf’s hot shooting night, the Bulldogs weren’t able to pull out on top. Whenever the momentum seemed to switch, a turnover or foul would swing it right back over to Fountain Fort-Carson.
“I don’t think it was nerves or anything like that that got us into trouble tonight,” French said. “We’ve had some emotional games like the Prairie View game coming into this and some slow starts that we got back into so we were prepared, but we got into foul trouble and calls didn’t fall our way and it hurt is in the end.”
The Bulldogs trailed by only 3 points with 5:28 left and their season on the line, but they couldn’t get it done. Dent would foul out with 1:57 but by that time, the Trojans had taken over the game. It would be the end of high school careers for her, along with her teammates Slorf, and Angelica Mirelez.
“I’m super sad that it’s all over, my high school career, but everything this year went a lot better than last year without a doubt,” Slorf said as she choked back tears.
The loss brings the Bulldogs final record to 15-9 on the season which is an improvement from last year’s 12-12 campaign.
“For everyone involved, this has been a special year,” French said. ” I saw growth all throughout our program and I’m very excited to see what’s to come in the future for us.”
Will Satler 