“She’s been an amazing leader, teammate, player, and person. She’s the kind of girl that everyone would love their little ones looking up to.”
That’s how South Adams coach Brett Freeman summed up his senior Laney Trausch after the Starfires bowed out of the IHSAA tournament with a 55-32 loss to the Bishop Luers Knights.
Already underdogs in the game to begin, the Stars hurt themselves in the second half with turnovers and a poor shooting performance.
The first half, however, belonged to South Adams. They led 21-15 at the break.
“Defensively the girls were playing really well,” noted Freeman. “Battling every possession. That was a big reason for our success in that first half.”
It was, alas, a much different story in the second half.
“We struggled on the offensive end against their pressure,” admitted the South Adams coach. His team allowed 24 points in the third quarter. “That allowed them to get out in transition and get some easy buckets.”
Once the Stars fell behind and struggled with their transition defense, the Knights began to find penetration on the dribble, which opened up shots on the perimeter.
Campbell Glenn knocked down three three-point shots and Harvest Green led the Knights with 15 points.
The Stars relied heavily on Ana Lehman, who matched Green’s 15-point total.
“We just struggled to get the ball to drop in a lot of the night,” said Freeman.
The young Starfires finished the season 6-16 and they expect to be much improved in 2026-27.
“I am super proud of this group. I wouldn’t want to be coaching anyone else. We’ll get there.”
Nearly the entire roster (other than Trausch) was a tenth grader this season.
Luers will take on Adams Central in the sectional semifinal Friday. That game can be heard live on 92.7 FM.
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