The Raider girls basketball team had a great season this year that came to an abrupt halt at the hands of the Easview Lightning on Wednesday, March 1, 49-42. Hastings was forced into the sixth seed for the section tournament after earning the fourth seed, an assignment from the section that would put them in an unfair spot against the three seed on the road.

The Raiders came out with a chip on their shoulder and rightfully so. They took advantage of every Eastview miscue and missed shot, turning them in to points to start the contest. The frustrating and annoying defensive play of Hastings shocked the Lightning and did exactly what they needed too, get under their opponents’ skin.

Rachel Notch was exceptionally annoying as a defender, her quick moves to change from shooter to shooter and get in their face just enough to fluster them was very amusing to witness. Notch has grown tremendously as a player on both ends of the court. You do not want to face her as a defender, and she has a sneaky good shot with a quick catch and release on the perimeter that no one sees coming.

Eastview flipped the script a little towards the end of the first half and the combination of them calming down and not forcing shots helped them improve their accuracy. By the time the first buzzer sounded, the game was tied at 17.

The second half was more of the same, only in quicker cycles. Each team figuring out ways to stymie shots and then figuring out ways to make shots. There were several lead changes, and the game was extremely close throughout the second half.

With 2:50 left in the game, Hastings had the lead 40-39 and the strategy started to shift away from fast points to slowing down the scoring and even playing a little keep away. Hastings was doing alright in that department and suddenly, Eastview could not miss on their shots. It became 42-40 Eastview, the 45-40 and the score kept going up quickly.

Hastings was doing everything in their power to slow the Eastview. Eastview went on a 10-0 run in the last 2:49 of the game, until departing Senior Natalie Caflisch had an open shot at the buzzer scoring her final two points of her Raider career and the final two points of the Raider season, a poetic finish that looked to almost be scripted.

The girls finished the season with a 17-10 record and a lot more playing experience for the younger players on the team. This team should be very entertaining to watch the next few years.

Keagan McVicker led the team in points with 22 and she had nine rebounds with five assists. Hailey Strain had the rebound lead with 15 and she logged eight points. Emma Bakker had 10 points with seven rebounds and Caflisch had two points.

Boys fall to St. Thomas.

The Raider boys basketball team finished its regular season against St. Thomas on Friday night at St. Thomas Academy (STA). The Cadets jumped out to an early lead and never let it go, outscoring the Raiders in the first half, 40-23. Hastings was a bit cold from the floor the first half having numerous shots that did not drop.

The second half of the game was much better for Hastings, but the damage had already been done. Hastings managed to keep the second half much closer with STA scoring 42 to Hastings’ 37. The game finished, 82-60.

Kelvin Maher led the Raiders in scoring with 15, Owen Bernatz had 12. Matthew Foss led with five rebounds, Lukas Foss had 10 points and four rebounds.

The loss puts the Raiders at 7-19 overall on the season and 5-11 in the conference. They earned the eight seed in the section tournament and travelled to Eastview to take on the number one seeded Lightning Tuesday night at 7 p.m. That matchup will be recapped next week.