Beavers Lose Heartbreaker in Final Game of the Year
February 21, 2017
Booming atmosphere with emotions running high; this was the surrounding Blackburn's women's basketball team played in on Tuesday night. It was senior night and everyone wanted to send off senior captain, Aleisha Stiltner, on the right note. The crowd was going wild as Blackburn fought their way through the game. They did not, however, get the story book ending they wanted.
The final score was 66-64. Blackburn had the ball in the half court with 0.6 seconds left in the game to get off a final shot, but just couldn't get it.
The game was a continuous back and forth between MacMurray and Blackburn. MacMurray did keep the lead for a decent amount of time, but Blackburn pulled themselves back into the game to start the battle during the second half after being down by 12 points. The teams had a switch off with lead at one point, with one team scoring, then the other. In the end, Blackburn just couldn't get the edge that they needed to pull away from MacMurray.
Despite the heartbreaking ending, the women went out on a high note, giving their all until the very end. Aleisha Stiltner finished out her last game with outstanding statistics, finishing her final game with a double-double. She knocked down six jumpers and seven free throws, giving her a total of 19 points. She also had the most rebounds for the team, with three offensive and nine defensive, giving her a total of 12 rebounds. To add to all that she had done for her team, Stiltner also had five assists.
Aleisha Stiltner has had an outstanding career over the past three years at Blackburn and will be greatly missed by her team. She has been a leader on the court and off, within her classes. The team will be losing an outstanding person for the next season, but Stiltner has stated she hopes to still join the women for workouts and help out with practices.