By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

St. Charles’ season came to its conclusion Thursday night as the Comets hosted Haynes, falling just short of avenging a lopsided loss earlier this season.

Haynes triumphed 50-47 not three weeks after defeating SCC at Haynes 57-23.

Kacie Braud scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds and three steals to lead SCC. Heather Orillion scored 14, Alex Hitt added seven and Courtney Snyder had six. Jaelen Bryant collected nine rebounds and had five steals.

“We made some adjustments from the first meeting, and the girls really did a great job. We figured out our strengths and weaknesses and what we had to change. And our girls just really wanted it.”

St. Charles (4-18, 2-6) trailed 26-22 at halftime but came out in the third quarter and outscored Haynes 14-8 to take a 36-34 lead entering the fourth quarter.

“We executed better offensively and our defense really stepped up in that third quarter,” said Cupit.

“We had a chance to win.”

While the Comets finished the season on a three-game losing streak, its combined six-point margin of defeat in the final two games to Riverside (which defeated SCC 48-28 in the first meeting between the schools) and Haynes suggests the Comets have come a long way since the beginning of district play.

That’s a good sign, Cupit said, considering the team boasts no seniors and will bring everyone back to continue to build.

“Next year we move to 3A and it’ll be a different district, a different challenge,” said Cupit. “But we’ll have four juniors who have played together since their freshman year, and a lot of young players with experience returning.”