Seabury's Bria Phipps, left, takes the ball downcourt as she's defended by Wetmore's Amy Niehuos. Seabury's season ended with a 61-26 loss Monday at Seabury.

SEABURY ACADEMY'S MOLLY THURMAN RELEASES A SHOT over Wetmore's Lina Becker during a Class 1A regional playoff game. The Seahawks fell, 61-26, on Monday night on their home floor.

Jen Crawford always will remember a lighthearted high-five as she walked off the Seabury Academy basketball court for the last time.

With 2:15 remaining in the fourth quarter Monday, Crawford left the court to a standing ovation by the home crowd on Senior Night. Bria Phipps hopped toward her for a high-five, but poked Crawford near her eye instead.

“As long as she didn’t hit my nose,” Crawford joked after the game. “I cracked it earlier in the season, and it’s been hit constantly since then.”

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the game was decided by the time Crawford went to the bench. Seabury lost to Wetmore, 61-29, in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs at its home gym.

The Seahawks were in good spirits despite the loss. Seabury (6-10) won one game Crawford’s entire freshman year. Then, Nick Taylor took over the program as coach. In the last three years, the team has averaged eight victories per season.

“He gets us energized,” Molly Thurman said of Taylor. “Every game, he tells us, ‘Get some fire, get motivated, get pumped up.’ He knows how to have fun, too.”

Thurman and Crawford led Seabury with eight points apiece Monday.

Wetmore’s Jayme Lackey was Seabury’s biggest nightmare, though. She single-handedly outscored the Seahawks, 27-26. Lackey, clearly the best player on the floor, scored 30 points against Seabury in Wetmore’s 55-21 victory on Feb. 6.

“Coach wanted us to get on her as much as possible and not let her have the ball,” Crawford said of Lackey. “Obviously, you can only do so much, but we tried.”

Lackey generated nearly all her points driving to the basket. She found daylight by frequently pump-faking Seabury defenders about 15 feet away from the basket after receiving the ball in isolation. Lackey’s drives to the bucket got her to the free-throw line 17 times. She converted 13 for Wetmore (6-15).

Sophomore Melissa Burch guarded Lackey for the majority of the game.

“I figured we’d box-and-one her, but we just couldn’t stay with her,” Taylor said.

Wetmore’s full-court press particularly frustrated Seabury in the first half. The Seahawks committed 17 first-half turnovers, many of them from errant passes against the press. Seabury had 25 turnovers on the night.

Wetmore played half-court defense in the second half with the game lopsided.

“I told the girls before we went out that we couldn’t kill ourselves, and that’s kind of what happened,” Taylor said. “We just kind of threw the ball to them, and they were able to get easy buckets. They were getting transition points off our turnovers.”

Despite the loss ending Seabury’s season, it was evident Taylor was more focused on the accomplishments of Thurman, Crawford and Lane Frizell on Senior Night.

“I wouldn’t trade a moment with them,” Taylor said of the trio. “They have really made me proud. They should be proud of themselves. We had a disappointing loss tonight, but you win some, and you lose some. Not only do they work hard for me, but they are good people, and that’s what we need in the world.”