The Milan Girls Varsity Basketball team fell to Adrian in the first round of the Districts by a score of 65-35, ending the season for the Lady Big Reds.
The tournament game was held on March 2, in Dundee.
At 24 points, the Big Reds were again led in scoring by Emily Bladen, who has led the team all season. With this performance, Bladen was able to reach the 1,000 career points mark, making her the third girl to do so in Milan High School history.
Aryana Bowden put in 5 points while Ava Thornton and Kaylee Eshelman each had 3 apiece.
The Sun Times News followed up with Milan Coach Phil Freeman, who said this last game was much like rest of the season, “The girls played hard and competed all the way to the end.”
“They never gave up,” he said. “It shows quality character.”
Of Bladen’s historic feat, Freeman said, “I have only coached Emily one of the three years that she has played at Milan. In the time I have coached her she has been focused on and dedicated to working to be a successful player and the results reflect that.”
In looking at the positive takeaways for this season, Freeman said “We showed a great deal of growth over the course of the season. We only had one senior and everyone took advantage of the opportunity to learn and grow. We had eight underclassmen on this team that now have varsity experience and have had a chance to grow together and develop chemistry. That is a huge factor in laying the foundation for success next season.”
Photo 1: Emily Bladen was an all-star for Milan Basketball. Photo by Stephen Cook
Photo 2: Emily with her teammates marking her historic feat. Photo by Stephen Cook
Photo 3: Aryana Bowden going up strong. Photo by Stephen Cook
Photo 4: Ava Thornton taking a shot. Photo by Stephen Cook
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