Charlotte Trojanette Alexa Castillo dribbles past Center Point Lady Pirate Jaz Lescuer during their Bi-District game Monday night. The Lady Pirates will move on where they face state ranked Falls City this Thursday in Pleasanton at 6:30 p.m. DAVID WICKERSHAM | PLEASANTON EXPRESS The Charlotte Trojanettes were able to break a long playoff drought of nine years, but their playoff run was short lived. The Trojanettes dropped a Bi- District contest on Monday night in the Hill Country town of Center Point. The lady Pirates were able to down the Trojanettes, as Charlotte ends their season with an overall record of 21-13 and a district record of 8-4.

D’Hanis- Prior to the playoffs beginning, the Trojanettes faced the D’Hanis Cowgirls in their final 30-1A games on the road. The Cowgirls were hoping to finish district play with a victory, but at the same were worried about staying healthy for the playoffs. At the end of the night, the Cowgirls were able to down the Trojanettes in a fourquarter physical battle in Medina County.

“This was not the way we wanted to go into the playoffs. D’Hanis was fighting for a playoff spot and we were already in. With the way we were banged up, D’Hanis was able to hold the upper hand against us,” stated Coach Shawn Vowell.

The Trojanettes got off to a hot start, as Alexa Castillo and Martina Castillo were on target in the quarter. They combined for twelve out of the teams sixteen first quarter points, giving them a 16-9 lead after one.

In the second, the Cowgirls lassoed the Trojanettes by running past them 16-4. This allowed D’Hanis to take a 25- 20 lead into the half.

In the second half, Charlotte came out and outscored D’Hanis 8-6, which closed the gap to 31-26 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth, the Trojanettes were held to just one three-point shot, as D’Hanis edged Charlotte 6-3 picking up a 37-31 victory.

“We jumped out on them in the beginning, but then we went cold. Nothing against D’Hanis, but if we played them ten times we would have beaten them nine times. We had two starters foul out which has never happened before. I think my girls were hoping they could coast and it hurt. Because of our lack of intensity, the loss falls on me,” Vowell added.

Scoring- Alexa Castillo 9, Brianna Hernandez 7, Martina Castillo 6, Amber Salazar 4, Vanessa Ramos 3, Veronica Cordova 2.

Bi District Playoff –vs- Center Point- The Trojanettes flipped to determine the site of their playoff game and they came up short from the start. As a result, the Trojanettes made the scenic drive up to Kerr County where they faced the 3rd place Center Point Lady Pirates.

“We gave it our best shot and we came up short,” stated Coach Shawn Vowell, referring to his teams’ loss to the Lady Pirates.

It was a defensive battle early, as both teams came up with six point first quarters. Alexa Castillo and Amber Salazar accounted for all six of the points.

In the second quarter, Charlotte had a bit of momentum swing their way, as Amber Salazar, Vanessa Ramos, Hernandez and Martina Castillo combined for a ten-point quarter, which had the Trojanettes up 16-15 at the half.

Issues occurred in the third quarter for Charlotte, as Center Point outscored them 19-8 which put them ahead 34-24 going into the final quarter.

“When we came out of the half with the lead, we had the momentum going our way. We went cold for a little more than three minutes in the third and they got hot. We missed five open looks at the basket and they turned a one point deficit into a 12-point lead,” stated Coach Vowell.

In the fourth and final quarter, both teams came out and played their hearts out. In the quarter, Brianna Hernandez was able to hit a handful of big 3-pointers along with Alexa Castillo who hit a pair. The Trojanettes put together an 18-point quarter, but it proved to not be enough as CP put up a 20-point quarter. As a result, the Trojanettes dropped a 52-44 decision in Center Point, as their season had come to an abrupt end.

“Brianna kept us in the game with 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Martina got in a little foul trouble, but Veronica played very well off the bench. Amber was ice cold from 3-point land. Center Point had the best player we have seen all year in Amanda Weaver, but the key to her was getting the ball to their post player Ashley Walters” Stated Coach Vowell.

The Trojanettes will lose a handful of seniors from their squad.

“I really like our chances next year with the team that we will have. I will miss everyone of these seniors and they could go down as one of the best female athletic group of girls Charlotte has ever had. The one thing mentioned on the bus was they can not wait to hit the yellow ball and not get a foul called,” stated Vowell in closing.

The Trojanettes will lose Alexa Castillo, Martina Castillo, Brianna Hernandez, Vanessa Ramos and Veronica Cordova to graduation.

The Trojanettes finish their year with plenty of success to look back on. After breaking their nine-year playoff drought, they hope this will be the start of success to come.

Scoring- A. Castillo 15, Hernandez 14, Salazar 6, Ramos 6, M. Castillo 2, and Rebecca Munoz 2. Rebounds- M. Castillo 12, Salazar 8, and Hernandez 4.

Final stats: The Trojanettes finished with the following point leader totals for the season: Amber Salazar 372, Alexa Castillo 358, Brianna Hernandez 286, Martina Castillo 216, Rebecca Munoz 107, Vanessa Ramos 69, Veronica Cordova 31.