Chieftains fall short in Regional action

Drawing a No. 11 seed, the Lake Holcombe girls basketball program faced off against E.C. Immanuel, in a firstround Regional playoff game Feb. 25. Taking on the No. 6 seed Immanuel on their home court, the Chieftains faced not only the loss of home advantage, but also that of a leading scorer early on.

“Tough loss for our girls, but even tougher when their captain and teammate (sophomore) Brooke Lechleitner went down in the first two minutes of the game with a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL),” said coach Jennifer Lechleitner. “Brooke brings a lot of speed, ball handling and points to the team. When that is taken out, it’s hard to replace.”

Lake Holcombe fell behind, going into halftime, down 46-20. Immanuel continued their scoring onslaught in the second half, recording 33 points, while the Chieftains were limited to just 16 points.

The final score sat with Immanuel taking the win, 79-36, to move on in the playoffs.

“I am very proud of the rest of the team and to our seniors,” said J. Lechleitner. “Megan Lechleitner who recently got back to playing after having her second ACL repair at the end of July, and Hannah Winchel, who wasn’t out last year, but sure stepped up this season.”

Senior Klaryssa Carrell also said goodbye to a Chieftains uniform. To finish out her high school basketball career, M. Lechleitner ended the night with 6 points, while Winchel had 1.

Leading the scoring charge for the Chieftains, was junior Allison Golat-Hattamer, recording 13 points. Sophomore Josi Elmberg added 6 and freshman Justine Kane chipped in with 4 points.

Freshman Karly Kirkman also got the board with 3 points, followed by sophomore Carly Vavra and freshman Belle Jones, with 2 points each.

Lake Holcombe finishes the 2019-20 season with a 10-12 record overall, and third in the East Lakeland Conference at 7-5.