Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Thorsby Rebels fell short of a return trip to the sub-regionals following a 67-61 loss to at home to Goshen in the opening round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Monday, Feb. 13.

The Rebels came out with a confidence shooting the ball, especially from beyond the arc.

Lily Barnett and Kerri Robinson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers from the right wing to help Thorsby open up a 15-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Robinson’s shooting was on target, as she scored the first six points of the second quarter en route to an 18-point first half that was highlighted by four makes from long range.

“I knew she was hot and I just wanted to keep feeding her the ball,” Barnett said. “We’ve always worked together like that.”

However, Robinson’s magical night from the field was interrupted after she was sidelined the final minutes of the second quarter due to foul trouble.

With Robinson on the bench, Goshen mounted a comeback and scored 12 unanswered points that turned a 10-point Thorsby lead into a two-point deficit heading into the half.

“I could see our balloon deflating,” Thorsby head coach Leighsa Robinson said.

The 33-31-halftime lead was Goshen’s first since the opening minutes of the game.

With Kerri Robinson still battling foul trouble in the third quarter, McKinley Sellers answered the call off the bench with back-to-back buckets to keep Thorsby within reach down 48-44 after three quarters.

“You rarely find a team that is as unselfish as this group,” Leighsa Robinson said.

Two points was the closest that Thorsby got from tying the game, as Goshen slowly opened the lead back up from the free throw line.

“We knew what we had to do,” Leighsa Robinson said. “That’s a good team and we just didn’t hit the shots when we needed them. We missed some layups, and those are the put backs that you’ve got to have.”

Barnett beat the final buzzer with a 3-pointer, as she made the final shot of her high school career.

Despite the foul trouble, Kerri Robinson finished with a team-high 25 points, while Barnett added 17.

“We laid it out on the court tonight,” Kerri Robinson said. “We can definitely say that we gave it our all.”

The Rebels combined to make eight 3-pointers on the night.

“We’ve got a lot to build on,” Leighsa Robinson said. “Our seniors have left a legacy and it’s going to be tough to follow.”