Area girls basketball: Season over for Eagles

With her team down by three points, Pepin-Alma's Breanna Ellison launched a 3-pointer as time expired. The ball banked off the backboard, hit the front of the rim and bounced out.

Pepin-Alma, the No. 2 seed, lost the Division 5 regional contest in Alma to No. 3 McDonell Central 58-55.

"I know the girls had bigger plans," Eagles coach Larry Grisen said after the second-round loss.

The Eagles started the game on a 5-0 run but the Chippewa Falls, Wis., school closed the opening quarter with a run of its own. P-A was down by seven after eight minutes of play. McDonell Central also went on a run in the third quarter.

"We got ourselves in a hole but couldn't get over the hump," Grisen said. "We just had some mental breakdowns."

Eagles sophomore Ali Murray scored a team-high 19 points while junior Sophia Reidt added 16. Both Murray and Reidt were first-team All-Small Dairyland selections. No other Eagles player scored more than seven points.

McDonell Central's Sarah Schoch scored a game-high 21 points while her teammate Ari Gardow added 15.

The Eagles finished the season with a 16-6 record.

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