It wasn’t the way it wanted its season to end, but the Morris girls basketball team saw its season conclude Friday night with a 62-28 loss to top-seeded Metamora in the Class 3A Metamora Regional championship game.

Morris, which finished with a 13-20 record, scored the first basket of the game, a bucket by senior Lily Hansen off an assist from classmate Tessa Shannon, but it was the only lead it held.

Metamora answered with a three-point play, then a 3-pointer, then a steal and a layup, all by Baylie Nena, who led all scorers with 19 points, to take an 8-2 lead. After a basket by Morris senior Alyssa Jepson (six points), Metamora scored the next six points on baskets by Addy Wooden (12 points), Nena and Kessa Sell (15 points) to go up 14-4. The Redbirds (23-8) led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter.

If Metamora hinted in the first quarter that it was going to be a tough night for Morris, the second quarter confirmed it.

The Redbirds began to apply full-court pressure, and it worked. Morris was guilty of five turnovers in the second quarter. Metamora rode the momentum of a 6-0 run to start the quarter into halftime. Morris was mindful of the Redbirds’ 3-point shooting prowess and had allowed just one 3-pointer through the first quarter and a half. That quickly changed when Metamora’s Sell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push her team out to a 32-11 lead. The lead reached 38-11 at halftime.

“They really took it to us tonight,” Morris coach Mike Lutz said. “They played hard and physical and we didn’t match their intensity. We had tried to simulate their press with six players on defense in practice, and we did pretty well breaking it. But, even with an extra person, you can’t simulate the speed and physicality that Metamora has.

“Once we got down, our confidence went down, too.”

Morris managed just seven points in the third quarter, while Metamora ran off 19 to make it 57-18 at the end of the period and invoke the running clock for the entire fourth. Hansen had three points for Morris in the quarter, while freshman Maddi Simpson scored all four of her points in the frame. Sell had seven points for Metamora, including another 3-pointer, while Nena had five points.

With the clock running and both teams emptying their benches in the fourth, Morris outscored Metamora 10-5 in the final period. Hansen scored four, while Jepson, Peyton Zomboracz and Stella Wright all had two.

“If someone had told me at the beginning of the season that we would be in a regional championship game, I would have taken that,” Lutz said. “The girls worked hard and earned their spot in this game. I feel like we had a great season.

“Our seniors – Lily Hansen, Brooke Thorson, Alyssa Jepson, Tessa Shannon and Kaylee Maddox – are all great kids and they will have success no matter what they do. All year, I saw them get knocked down, but get back up and keep fighting. We weren’t able to get back up tonight, but most of that is due to Metamora. They are big and strong. The guards were a concern for us coming in, but No. 5 [Nena] got some baskets underneath and then No. 30 [Sell] got hot. Give Metamora credit. They did everything right tonight.”