By Carleen Wild
Moody County Enterprise
For the first time in 18 years, the Colman-Egan girls basketball team stepped onto the floor at the Class B State Tournament this past weekend — and while the results didn’t fall the Hawks’ way, the trip itself marked a milestone for the program.
Colman-Egan opened Thursday against fourth-seeded Ethan, falling 51-42. The Hawks stayed within striking distance early, but Ethan pulled away in the second half to secure the win and send the team into the consolation bracket.
The Hawks returned to the court Friday against Lyman and while the game was tight throughout, Lyman pulled away late, defeating Colman-Egan 53-48 in the final minutes.
Brynlee Landis led the Hawks with 19 points, nine rebounds and five steals in the game, while Jolie Flatten added 18.
Colman-Egan wrapped up its tournament run Saturday in the seventh-place game against Centerville. The Hawks battled throughout but ultimately fell 53-46, finishing eighth in Class B.
Despite the losses, the weekend capped a memorable season for the team and community. The Hawks finished the year with a 22-4 record and their first state tournament appearance since 2008.
First-year head coach Josh Flatten said Monday morning, reflecting on the season, that the experience was both a learning opportunity and something the team can build on.
“We had a good weekend together as a group. Of course, we had higher goals, but the girls played hard and there are a lot of takeaways from it,” he said.
Flatten said the Hawks’ youth is one of the biggest reasons for optimism moving forward.
“We’re really young. Brynlee Landis is our lone senior. The majority of the playing time was two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior,” he said.
“Filling Bryn’s spot is going to be a challenge — you don’t replace Bryn. But we’ll work around it.”
Flatten credited the team’s work ethic — and a renewed focus on strength and conditioning — for helping the Hawks stay competitive throughout the season.
“Our girls just work tremendously hard. They take their school and athletics here very seriously,” he said.
“One of the things that got us to the end of the year relatively healthy was our strength and conditioning program. We had a strength and conditioning coach come in and work with them all year, and that kept them healthy and put the girls in a good spot to do their job.”
After the opening-round loss, Flatten said the coaching staff focused on keeping the team’s perspective on the experience of reaching the state tournament.
“One thing we talked about was how this kind of frees us up because nobody is ending our season,” he said. “We got where we wanted to go. No matter how the first couple games go, you’re guaranteed a last game and a chance to end your season on a win…the girls played really hard all three games. I don’t think there’s anyone who can say we didn’t belong there. We ran with the best teams in the state.”
Flatten also credited the team’s families and the broader community for their support throughout the season.
“We just had so much fan support this year and I thank the community for that. We had a lot of people behind the scenes with this team — a lot of moms stepped up and provided team meals. We just had a lot of community support, backing and love. It makes our job as coaches a bit easier. The girls can really feel that support and it gives them that edge. It just feels good knowing there are a bunch of people who love you.”
More on the Hawks State Tournament games on page 11.
Leave a Reply