The Gehlen Catholic girls opened up postseason play with a 56-39 win over Trinity Christian. Lauren Heying not only helped the Jays win last night, but she also joined an exclusive club in Gehlen girls basketball history.
Lauren Heying’s 16 points last night propelled her into the Gehlen Catholic 1,000-point club. She joins Hannah Sitzmann and former teammate Addison Weber as the only Jays to score 1,000 career points. Heying says that to join those two in the club is very special.
The success for Heying has come from the confidence she feels every time she steps on the court. She says that confidence comes from all her teammates and coaches.
For Head Coach Brandon Schaecher, the confidence took some time after her sophomore year, but, now, she is becoming the best basketball player she can be.
The group of seniors that Heying takes the floor with have been playing together for a while now. Heying says that comradery and familiarity has made them a lot of fun to play with.
Coach Schaecher has seen enough basketball to know that these milestones don’t just happen. It takes a lot of work over four years to get to this point. Coach Schaecher says that Heying has been rewarded for all that hard work.
As far as the game was concerned, it was a very slow start to the contest. The Jays and Tigers combined for just 10 points in the first quarter. Coach Schaecher says he sensed a tension amongst his players to start the game.
The shots definitely started to fall as the two teams combined for 36 points in the second quarter. The Tigers never backed down keeping the game separated by as little as four points late in the third quarter. Coach Schaecher says that his team may have overlooked the four-win Tigers a little, and Trinity Christian took advantage of that.
The Jays now turn their attention toward Storm Lake St. Mary’s who is ranked ninth in the state. Coach Schaecher says the Panthers have a talented team who is playing their best basketball.
For Heying and company, the goal is to follow the gameplan that the coaches put forth and keep playing their best basketball.
The Jays are now 10-12 following the win. Trinity Christian ends their season at 4-18.
