Loss at NUC was final game for senior pair

For Greta Hahn, putting up a half-court shot at Madelia will rank high on her list of senior year basketball memories.

She got yelled at for attempting it.

But overall, her most valuable takeaway will be being with the team and especially the coaching staff.

“We all got along so well. There was never any drama. We all bonded. It’s not something you see a lot, and it made the season so much better.”

For Mariah McCabe, the only other senior on the team, she will look back on how she allied with her teammates as they worked together.

“I met a lot of friends, so it is the friendships and teamwork. I will remember this team. I love all the girls a lot.”

With Thursday’s 62-42 loss to host New Ulm Cathedral in the first round of the section playoff, the season ended for the senior duo.

While the seniors had much to take away from their experience, they left their mark too, said head coach Joe Remiger.

“When Mariah was in there, she shored up our defense. Many times she stepped in to stop drives. Greta was an offensive threat, a defensive threat. She was our three-point shooter, and then rebounding, when we look at numbers, I think Ava (Hahn) was number one and then Greta and Addi (Holden) were next and within a couple of rebounds of each other. Most of the time she was playing out at the three-point line, so for her to have our second or third-most rebounds says a lot about her.”

Game summary

With the Clippers trailing 12-0, Ava Hahn’s three switched on their half of the scoreboard. Lacey McCabe dropped in a free throw, but the Greyhounds scored the next three points to go in front 20-4.

After McCabe dumped in a running jumper from the paint, Greta Hahn took a Mollie Bowman pass, stepped outside the arc and pumped it for a three. Following up, she grabbed a defensive rebound and fed her classmate Mariah McCabe for a bucket, but the Greyhounds led 25-13.

Later, Lacey McCabe surged through the lane for a basket, and Greta Hahn sunk a free shot, but Cathedral added a couple of threes and an easy layup in the mix before dropping in a three just in front of the buzzer to lead 37-16 at halftime.

Holden spun for two points for the first Clipper bucket of the second half. Mariah McCabe scored inside, and Keira Schipper took assists from Ava Hahn and Lacey McCabe for a pair of baskets, but the Greyhounds stole and made easy layups for a 51-24 advantage.

The Clippers did manage to shift gears though—even with the Cathedral starters still on the floor—for an 11-point spurt.

Holden started it when she took a Bowman handoff inside for two. The Hahn siblings teamed up for a bucket, the older passing to the younger—who wasn’t feeling the best but wasn’t going to miss what was likely to be the last chance to play with her sister. Holden plugged a three and Ava Hahn ran a steal in for a layup.

As the game drew to a close, Schipper put in a Mariah McCabe assist, and Lacey McCabe set up in the corner and looped in the final Clipper basket.

Despite the loss, head coach Joe Remiger was positive about the effort.

“With this game, the girls played 36 minutes. Yeah, we didn’t own every rebound, but defensively, we never quit. Offensively, we kept pushing ball because we knew we would have to do that if we were going to get back into this. Did we get the end result we wanted? No. But from my end, I am super proud of them that they didn’t quit.”

With a dozen points, including a pair of threes, Holden was the lone Clipper in double digits. Schipper and Lacey McCabe each recorded seven points. Ava Hahn had six points, and Greta Hahn had a three and a free throw for four points. Mariah McCabe chipped in a bucket in each half.

The Clippers made three of 10 free shots. Cathedral put in eight threes, five more than the Clippers, and eight of 12 foul shots.

The future of CHS girls basketball

While Remiger and company would like to have more players—and there is a lot of talent roaming the CHS halls that could contribute in big ways—he said the numbers were solid this year.

“We got on the bus tonight, and I said this is the first time we started with the same number (18) that we ended with. They were all on the bus, so that’s super encouraging.”

Remiger said that around the conference there is a lack of participation in junior high through varsity.

“So from that end of it, it’s frustrating that the numbers aren’t there, but at the same time for us, to be able to bring the amount of girls we have, and keep building upon that, that is our hope and dream. You look at the fifth and sixth graders. They have good numbers now, and we’re hoping to keep those rolling, kind of like GHEC (Truman/Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Martin Luther) does. They’re getting it, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time.”

Although it only got in four games, this was the first year in a decade and a half the Clippers had a C-squad. It was mainly staffed by the five eighth graders, but there is more untapped talent in that class too.

Looking at the even lower ranks, the seventh graders, often playing up a grade level, whipped it up on most every team they took on. The fifth and sixth graders did well too, and the fourth graders delivered a first-round knockout punch to every team that stood in their path.

The Clippers are building a solid farm system.

And while volleyball remains more popular than basketball at CHS, Remiger can take comfort in the fact that many of Cleveland’s best volleyball players (think G & A, Sarena Remiger, Emily Kern, now a DII volleyball player, Halle McCabe, Brooke Phillips and Taylor Holicky to name a few) also played...yep...basketball.

That makes perfect sense because basketball’s quick lateral movement, leap and hand-eye coordination requirements parallel many of the skills necessary for volleyball. Basketball’s emphasis on explosive power, agility and teamwork also matches up with volleyball’s demands.

A few players from this year’s team will up their skills at summer camps—just down the road, the GAC Leadership camp, for girls and boys too, is ranked among the state’s best—and Remiger hopes to hire a group to host a day camp in Cleveland.

Above: Seniors Greta Hahn and Mariah McCabe pose for a photo after their final game.