By BUTCH HARMON
It was a season to remember for the Carson City-Crystal girls basketball team.
The Eagles set a school record with 21 wins this winter, as they finished 21-3 overall and shared the league championship with Sacred Heart Academy. Carson City-Crystal also won its first regional game in school history, defeating Calvin Christian before its season ended against St. Louis in the regional championship game.
“We did a pretty good job,” coach Larry Farmer said. “The last three years we have won 59 games, and we are 41-6 the last two years. We’ve won three district and three league titles in a row. These seniors have been outstanding.”
Defense was the key to success. The Eagles allowed a school-record 22.75 points per game with their stifling 1-3-1 zone.
Junior point guard Mikayla Duflo was one of the team leaders, connecting on 82 three-point shots, the eighth-best in Michigan high school history. She earned special mention all-state honors and she averaged 12.2 points per game and 3.2 assists.
Senior center Mackenzie Geister earned honorable mention all-state honors. She averaged 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better team or coach for my senior year,” Geister said. “We had a great season, winning our third league title, our third district title, and making it to regional finals. It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but it was such a great experience. Being a senior, it was hard to lose that last game, knowing that I’ll never play with my team again. But either way, we were all proud of each other and how far we had made it.”
Senior Tori Christiansen added 9.7 points per game and was also an outstanding defensive player who added 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals. She earned all-conference honors. Sophomore guard Jenna Schneider was an honorable mention all-conference guard who added five points per game.
“Our team this year had a lot of diversity, and we were deeper coming off the bench than any previous years,” Geister said. “This gave us more balance, and we were able to match up with other teams better. We had a foreign exchange student from Norway, Karen Engen, who was 6′ 2”, who joined the team this year, which helped us win our league title against Sacred Heart Academy. Everyone had an important role on the team this year. whether it was playing in every game, or playing scout defense in practice. We worked hard every day to push each other to be better, and what more could you ask of a team.”