After suffering a 39-38 defeat in the first round at home against Bloomer, many of the girls on the Ellsworth basketball team walked to the locker room in tears knowing that their 2022-23 season had just officially ended.

Despite playing a game riddled with turnovers and missed open shots, the seventh-seeded Panthers had a chance to force overtime in the final moments of regulation. While trailing by three with under five seconds to play, Ellsworth junior Molly Janke got fouled on a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer.

Janke went to the line with no time left and swished her first and second free throws. Her third got halfway down before it ultimately rimmed out, which sealed Ellsworth’s one-point first-round defeat against the tenth-seeded Blackhawks.

Although Janke’s missed free throw ended the game, the Panthers’ droves of turnovers and missed shots truly catalyzed the defeat. Ellsworth head coach Jason Janke spoke about how turnovers and offensive inefficiency plagued the Panthers on Tuesday night, as well as the latter half of the season.

“I think the game was a microcosm of our season,” Jason Janke said after the loss. “We had some ups and we had some tremendous downs. In the games we’ve been able to win we’ve had those ups, and we never really got that tonight. We just couldn’t get it going.”

The only semblance of offensive efficiency against Bloomer came in the opening five minutes of the game. Ellsworth jumped out to a 10-2 lead in large part because they converted high-quality looks at the rim.

The opening salvo saw four Panthers score in the first five minutes of the game, including juniors Ava Brookshaw, Maria Harrington, Kayla Kressin and Molly Janke. Brookshaw accounted for five of Ellsworth’s first ten points, as she buried a wing three-pointer and then slashed into the lane for a layup at the rim.

The Panthers appeared dominant in those opening five minutes and at times, it looked like Ellsworth might win it going away. Instead, the Panthers didn’t score for the next six minutes as Bloomer battled its way back into the game.

“I think we were up 10-2 and we should have run away right there,” Jason Janke said. “If I had a solution for our inability to put layups and close buckets in the hoop, I would have fixed it a long time ago.”

The Panthers’ inability to convert high-quality looks inside the paint wasn’t just a problem during the six-minute scoring drought – it negatively impacted the entire game. Ellsworth finished its first and only playoff game shooting a pedestrian 13-49 (27%) from the floor.

“I think the key to the game was not finishing in the paint,” Jason Janke said. “I don’t think we shot 40% in the paint, let alone where we should be. That was the key tonight.”

Ellsworth’s only dominant aspect of Tuesday night’s playoff game was on the glass, as the Panthers snagged 36 rebounds – many of them offensive – during the defeat. Despite struggling offensively, the efforts in the rebounding battle helped Ellsworth play to a 17-17 draw going into the halftime intermission.

Two minutes into the second half, the game remained tied 21-21. That’s when Ellsworth went on a quick 8-2 run that gave the Panthers a 29-23 advantage with just over a dozen minutes to play. Molly Janke scored six of the eight points, which came off of free throws and one three-pointer from the wing.

Even with a small lead midway through the second half, Ellsworth couldn’t pull away. The Panthers finished the game with 16 turnovers, many of which came in those final 12 minutes, that ultimately kept Bloomer in the game.

“The turnovers were killers,” Jason Janke said. “Every time we had a chance to push it to five or six points, we either didn’t hit a shot or had a turnover. I guess when it’s February, you’ve got to give some credit to Bloomer. Those kids made some big plays and I took my hat off to them.”

The Blackhawks unquestionably made some big plays. None were bigger than freshman Nora Jensen’s three-pointer from the top of the key that gave Bloomer a 39-36 lead with just two seconds to play in regulation.

Her three-pointer ultimately led to the 39-38 victory and a first-round upset victory over Ellsworth. The Panthers finished the year 12-13 overall and 5-9 in Middle Border Conference games. Coach Janke spoke about the latter half of the 2022-23 season, which included losing five straight games to end the year.

“The record isn’t what we thought it would be and it probably isn’t what it should be,” Jason Janke said. “I just don’t think we performed as well as I thought we were going to.”

Although Ellsworth’s record wasn’t what Jason Janke and the Panthers were hoping for, he said there are still a lot of positives they will take from the 2022-23 season, especially their academic excellence and unwavering desire to compete, even when it wasn’t going well.

“All of the effort things our kids do well. We gave everything we had and they’re fantastic kids,” Janke said. “They will be in the running for Academic All-State as a team. Yeah, February didn’t go well, but their attitude has been the best it’s been all year. We’ve had great camaraderie and positive chemistry with all of the girls. I’m really proud of our kids.”