On March 1, the Lady Lancers and the Frederick Cadets faced off in an intense playoff game at Hood College’s BB&T Arena. Originally intended to be played at Linganore High School because LHS had the first seed, leadership chose the BB&T Arena instead to make a more neutral contest.

The game was closed to the general public in an effort to protect the student athletes and ‘limit distractions and disruptions.’ Four tickets were distributed to each player and were intended for family members only. Others including school administrators and a handful of journalists and photographers, were granted admission into the game as well.

To the players, the difference in the game’s atmosphere was felt strongly. “To us, part of the playoff experience is having all the crazy fans to ‘hype’ us up after good plays and things like that. It was weird being so quiet, we could hear basically what everyone in the stands was saying,” says team captain and leading scorer for the Lancers, Olivia Weinel.

Although many were not allowed to attend the actual game, hundreds of people watched the game live on YouTube. The live stream was projected in Linganore’s auditorium, where students and staff were encouraged to attend, free of charge. Over 400 people gathered in the auditorium to watch the game.  Staff members volunteered their time to supervise the students.

Linganore remained behind throughout the game, and the Frederick Cadets prevailed. The score of the game was 64-32. Frederick will move on to play in the 3A regional final game against Manchester Valley on Saturday March 3.

Didn’t have a chance to see the game? Click here to watch it! Read the Frederick News Post description of the game.