Regional Recap: Essex falls short in semis

 One of the best seasons in recent memory came to an end for the Essex Trojanettes basketball team as they lost 52-36 in the 1A regional semifinals Friday night in Tabor to the Fremont-Mills Knights.

Essex battled hard and kept close early with Fremont-Mills. However, the Knights survived the initial attack and maintained their lead for much of the game.

Essex tried to close the gap, getting the Fremont-Mills lead down to single digits at several points in the fourth quarter.

However, Fremont-Mills was able to hold on, despite Kelsey Hurley fouling out and guard Macy Williams nearly fouling out.

Andrea McClary had 17 points to lead Fremont-Mills, while Williams scored 10.

Jescenia Mosley was the top scorer for Essex as she finished with nine points. Amber Ohnmacht scored eight points, while Bethany Johnson had six.

Essex reached the semifinals thanks to a 49-30 quarterfinal victory last Tuesday over Nishnabotna.

The Trojanettes pressured the Blue Devils from the get-go as they forced turnovers, stealing the ball 15 times.

Jescenia Mosley had a big night as she scored 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting and 6-for-7 at the free throw line, with seven rebounds and two steals.

Three seniors played their final game in the Allen Stuart gymnasium. Of those three, Ohnmacht led with nine points. Kym Graham had four points with seven rebounds, while Sara Skalberg scored two points and had a rebound.

Additionally, Daiton Martin and Johnson each scored six points, while Ausha Gay finished with four.

Fremont-Mills played in the regional final Monday night where they took on Adair-Casey.

Adair-Casey 63, Stanton 28

The Stanton Viqueens season ended in the regional quarterfinals last Tuesday as they lost in Adair to Adair-Casey.

The Bombers attacked early on, taking a 20-0 lead in the first quarter. The scoring slowed down slightly in the second, but Stanton trailed 30-5 at halftime.

Adair-Casey tacked onto its lead in the second half and never looked back.

Stanton was led by Chelsea Weis, who scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds.

Logan Wagg and Heidi Vanderholm each finished with four points. It was the final game in Stanton uniforms for both girls. It was also the last game for seniors Haley Weis, Erin Sorensen and Lauren Stephens.

Ally Focht scored three points, while Devin Druivenga and Sorensen each had three.

The loss for Stanton snapped a five game winning streak. The Viqueens finish the 2014-15 season with an 11-10 record.

Central Decatur 71, Southwest Valley 36

The Timberwolves were eliminated in the 2A quarterfinals with their loss last Tuesday in Leon.

Southwest Valley fell behind early by 10 and never recovered as Central Decatur clinched its spot in the semifinals.

Marie Palmer had a double-double in her final game for the Timberwolves, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Palmer also had five blocks.

It was also the final games for Lexi Bronner, Jonnie Weeks, Kim Hults, Kelsey Means, Shelby Cooper, Janelle Gibler and Jade Petersen.

Southwest Valley finishes the season with a 7-15 record.