McClatchy

Hundreds of fans lined the pool deck on Thursday to cheer on the Lady Lions and the excitement was palpable. CKM was playing for the final berth at Sections.. Non-water polo students showed up in droves to support the team and they even painted signs to inspire the players……and inspired they were. Molly won the the sprint for CKM, but it was several minutes into the game before anyone scored. Pondo may have scored first, but the half was all about the Lions. Mady scored the first goal of the day with theLion's patience, poise and passing paying off after the first Pondo kick-out. The Bruins answered, but not until well into the quarter. The Lions defense was clearly causing them problems, forcing high shots. Mady’s second goal, off a pass from Zoe, was a lob at the buzzer to tie up the score at 2 all for the first quarter. Mackenzie put the Lions ahead early in the 2nd quarter with her goal. Mady forced a turnover and got the ball to Mackenzie at set, but she was tied up and got the ball back to Mady on the wing to put the Lions up by 2. The Bruins scored on a 6:5 play, but the Lions went into halftime up 4 to 3. The tension in the crowd elevated as the chance to go on to Sections was within their grasp. The second half started well with Molly and Mariana controlling the sprint and Ponderosa’s first several possessions ending with nothing. CKM missed a few opportunities to score when they were up, but converted the third opportunity when Mac drew a kickout and Molly scored off a pass from Xanthe. The Bruins took advantage of a breakaway and scored, but the Lions ended the 3^rd quarter up by one. The Lions stayed in the lead until midway through the final quarter. With five minutes to go, Ponderosa scored after a kick-out. Not used to being behind in a league game, Ponderosa pumped up their offense after that and scored another two goals. The tough CKM defense which had effectively shut down a couple of Pondo’s shooters and aggressive underwater play on both ends of the court, began to wear the Lions out and their offense slumped. With time remaining for a comeback, Molly’s long shot was true, but the Lions were now behind by 2 points. With advantage their way, Ponderosa stalled, as any team would do in that position, and kept the ball in the back court until they had an obvious break away and the Lions couldn’t steal it, try as they might. Not about to let them score again, Molly fouled to prevent an open shot---Lions lose a heartbreaker 6-8. But there was much to be proud of as Coach Brian told them after the game---as good as the past couple of years' teams had been, those Lions had never been ahead of the Bruins. The sensational season ended with cheering from the parents, teammates and students as the girls went through the human arch formed on the sidelines with smiles on their faces. (M. West-3; M Hitchings-2; M. Kaplan-1)