The Bear River Girls’ Water Polo team troubled waters at the Division III Section tournament on November 9th.
The girls won victory over Dixon 12 to 11, but lost to Kimball High 10 to 5 in the second game.
“The Lady Bruins played awesome in Sections, beating a higher-ranked Dixon in the first round and then losing a tough fought game to Kimball — the eventual winner of Division III Sections,” said Coach Daryn Glasgow. “The last time the Lady Bruins went to Sections was the 2012/13 season, so for all these ladies it was a first. They have watched the men’s team attend Sections the two previous seasons, so this was their goal and they earned it.”
“Our first sections game, we won. It was tied the entire game, it got up to 11 to 11, and in the last second, we scored! It was like Hollywood status!” said excited junior and field player, Lucy Livingston. “The one we lost, I feel like we were just a couple of good passes away from being in the game. We could’ve won that one, but we could only keep surprising people for so long, because we’re little Bear River!”
Senior and field player, McKenzie Pallinger, commented on the team’s attitude towards sections.
“We were the underdogs, and we really proved ourselves and showed people that what really matters is how committed and how dedicated you are to the sport, and I think that’s why we were able to make it so far this year,” she said.
“We weren’t giving up, we just tried harder and harder,” said senior and goalie, Jasmine Au. “We’ve been working really hard to get to this point, so we’re really proud of ourselves.”
The rest of the team was very proud of what they accomplished this season, as well. Both in the water, and out.
“I’d say this has been my favorite year playing Water Polo, because we really bonded as a team and we had really good chemistry. I think that’s why we were able to make it so far, because we were so encouraging to everyone. Whether you got a lot of playing time or not, you were just happy to be there and it was such a good atmosphere,” Pallinger said.
Livingston seemed to agree.
“This is definitely the best season I’ve had at Bear River,” she said. “Everyone on the team loved each other! I don’t know, we were just like a big family! I know it’s so cheesy!”
Coach Glasgow spoke about her team’s success and improvement.
“They got off to a rough start this season but pulled it together and improved the rest of the way,” she said. “Placing 2nd in the Capital Athletic League by dominating Christian Brothers at the end of the year tournament demonstrated how far they came this season.”
Pallinger also discussed her thoughts on her last season at Bear River.
“It’s kind of bittersweet just because it is my last year playing and it is hard to know that I’m not going to be able to hang out with all the team every single day after school,” she said. “But I think we went out in a really good way. I’m sad it’s over, but I feel like we definitely had a really good season, so it’s not that hard to let go.”
Despite the loss of many seniors, the team still looks hopeful for next season.
“We have a lot of people who I think will be really capable of filling in their places. We have a strong team,” said Livingston.
“We will lose 6 players on the women’s side,” said Coach Glasgow. “We have some work to do but we have some great players coming up. It will take some work, but they can do really well next season and the expectation should be that they return to Sections.”
