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PrintThe dream died hard for the Rock Bridge girls’ basketball team Friday night.
A miraculous turnaround came three points short of a district championship, and the coach who led the charge announced he would not return for an encore.
The Bruins fell to Jefferson City 53-50 at home in the Class 5-District 10 championship. It was an overtime loss that featured a tremendous fourth quarter rally by the Bruins, but they missed too many opportunities in the final minutes to beat the Jays (18-9).
Coach Kevin Giese then said after the game he has decided not to return to Rock Bridge for a second season after taking what was a 6-20 team a year ago to a 17-8 record and district runner-up finish.
The Bruins’ players took the loss hard but still found pride in how they beat the odds this year.
“This year was great,” senior Ashley Stanfill said. “This hurts, yes, because of Wednesday (victory against Hickman), but I think (Rock Bridge) is going to achieve so much in the next few years.”
Giese said the future is bright for the players and the girls’ basketball program.
“I told the girls not to hang their heads for one minute,” Giese said.
He said the decision to leave was for family reasons.
He and his family will be moving to Edwardsville, Ill., where he coached for the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville basketball team as an assistant during the 2003-2004 season.
He said he does not have a position with the basketball team there, but he plans to help with an AAU program in Edwardsville.
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