By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
LEBANON — Even in defeat, Olivia Gastineau’s comeback from an ACL tear and surgery was capped Saturday by one of her best performances of the season.
Gastineau scored 14 points in Ava’s 56-49 Class 4 Quarterfinal setback to Jefferson City Helias.
The Lady Bears falling one win short of a Final Four berth didn’t take away from the fulfillment Gastineau experienced over the past six weeks. She rejoined her teammates in February after a lengthy rehab.
Ava won 15 of 16 games leading up to Saturday.
“It was very rewarding and amazing to come back. I never thought I would,” said Gastineau, a junior forward. “It was tough seeing my teammates go without me. When I came back, it was about trying to get back in a routine. It took us a couple games. We finally figured it out.”
“I’m so proud of Olivia,” teammate Hannah Evans said. “It’s really hard to come back from an injury and still be able to perform like she did.”
“Olivia did a tremendous job to fight to get back to play the second half of the season,” coach Nathan Houck said. “She played great today. That’s an outstanding team we played and she did a great job handling their pressure, distributing the ball and hitting big shots.”
Gastineau and Evans teamed for four 3-point goals Saturday, but Ava couldn’t match the fourth quarter fireworks of Helias’ Gabrielle Bax. Bax scored a game-high 20 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
“She put it on us the last quarter,” Gastineau said.
Helias was in control most of the game, but Ava jumped out to a 16-7 lead. The Lady Crusaders answered with a 16-2 run and never trailed the rest of the game.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Helias’ full-court defensive pressure was a difference-maker. Ava committed 13 turnovers.
“We knew they were going to send a lot of pressure at us in full-court and half-court,” Houck said. “For the most part, I felt like we did a decent job against it. But we turned it over a few too many times. Give credit to Helias.”
The post featured a compelling duel between Ava 6-foot-2 center Sara Mendel and Helias 6-1 center Adalyn Koelling. They both attracted plenty of attention and each scored seven points.
“Sara posted hard. She finished a few and rebounded well,” Houck said. “Their girl was every bit as tall as her, if not taller. That was a plus to see what Sara is made of. She responded and stepped up.”
“It’s very unusual for us to see another girl that tall,” Gastineau said. “When (teams) double-teamed Sara, it tends to open up the outside for us. We had to know to let it go and try to score as much as we can.”
Ava finished with five 3-pointers, but could draw no closer than six points down the stretch. Helias made 6-of-8 free throws over the final two minutes.
“It’s very emotional for us,” Gastineau said. “But this (post-season is going to be a great memory. Later on, we’ll be able to tell our families about it, ‘Hey that was me and my friends that did that.’ It will be a lifetime memory.”
“We played like a family ’til the end,” Evans said. “We won as a team and we lost as a team.”
HELIAS (56) — Morris 2 0-0 4, Edwards 5 2-5 12 Manns 3 4-4 10 Bax 5 9-12 20, Ruetter 1 0-0 3, Koelling 3 1-4 7.
AVA (49) — L. Gastineau 2 3-4 7, O. Gastineau 6 0-0 14, Evans 4 2-2 12, Fossett 4 0-0 9, Mendel 3 1-3 7.
Helias 8 15 15 18 – 56
Ava 16 5 10 18 – 49
3-point goals – O. Gastineau 2, Evans 2, Fossett, Bax.
