The girls and boys basketball teams both suffered heartbreaking losses in the semifinals of their respected district playoffs.

The Lady Pirates (13-13) lost to No. 1-seeded Francis Howell Central (22-4) 49-30 and the boys team (8-17) lost to No. 2 seed Hazelwood Central (15-12) 72-66.

The girls were able to keep it close in the first quarter, but they were outscored 14-4 in the second quarter and were never able to overcome that obstacle.

Senior Niya Danfort led the girls team in scoring with 10 points against Francis Howell Central. She also led the team in assists and steals with 3 each. Danfort scored a total of 340 points this season averaging 13.1 points per game. She will be playing basketball for Rend Lake College next year.

The boys were able to make it interesting after being down 36-17 at the half. The Pirates were able to outscore the Hawks 23-8 in the third quarter and scored 26 to the Hawk’s 28 in the fourth to make it a close game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit.

Senior Julius Erby and freshman Kellen Thames were both selected to the 2019 MBCA Class 4 District 6 All-District Teams. They both led the team in their final playoff game.

Erby had a great season averaging nearly a double-double the entire year. Averaging 17 points and 9.3 rebounds a game this season, Erby bested both of those numbers by scoring 25 points and collecting 13 rebounds. Thames had a breakout game scoring 20 points to be the team’s second highest scorer.