Ennis girls battle to a fifth place finish at state

“There is one name on the front of our jerseys and every girl played for this little community of Ennis. That is more important than any win or loss,” said Mustangs head coach Mike Speck after his team finished their season tied for fifth place at the state tournament. 

“There are many team goals that we made at the beginning of the year. We met a lot of those, but I think the most important goal that we hit was we became a family and did EVERYTHING TOGETHER,” he emphasized. 

That togetherness propelled the team to an improbable comeback in the divisional tournament that saw them beat huge odds just to qualify to be counted among the top eight teams in class B at the end of the season. They opened the tournament with a tough 54-46 loss to Loyola Sacred Heart. The next day, they kept their season alive with a 56-46 win over Big Timber. Saturday morning, they lost a hard fought game against Florence-Carlton 67-51. On the front lines for it all were the team’s senior class. 

“This is my first year as the head Girls coach, but I know that these five seniors have put in a lot of work and did it more than just the four years of high school,” said Speck. “Their skill level was impressive, but their leadership led us through thick and thin. Through all of the ups and downs of a season, they did not get off of the beaten path of success. They will be greatly missed, but I know that all of them will be very successful in their future endeavours.”

While the heavy emotions of a tough loss make way for the sense of accomplishment of a successful season, Speck turns his eye towards the future and the players who get to do it all again next year. 

“The future of this program is bright,” said Speck. “We have a lot of underclassmen that are ready to step up into more important roles. Next year's seniors are biting at the bit to get better and make another run. We have an awesome group of student athletes in this program and I know that they will step up to the plate.”