“The Wildcat girls basketball season came to a close Friday and the game went like most this season – with the Cats playing hard but coming out on the short end of the stick. Oak Harbor scored 20 points more than in its previous game, but this time the girls’ defense could not hold Cascade down as they lost 76-59.We really wanted it for the seniors tonight, said Oak Harbor junior Marcey Manibusan. We picked it up on the offensive end but we couldn’t stay with them in the third.Oak Harbor played tough during the first quarter, tying the Bruins at 15-15 at the end of one. Cascade began to pull away during the second. A five-point swing sparked by a three-point play gave the Bruins an eight-point lead entering the half.From there it was all downhill for the Cats as the Bruins went on an 11-2 run to open the third. I don’t think we got tired, I just think we got some unlucky boards, said Oak Harbor senior Molly Bull. Our shots were falling in the first quarter but they kind of stopped.Despite making runs of their own, including a stretch where the Cats buried four straight threes to pull back within 11, the Cascade lead proved to be too much. Oak Harbor was lit up during the first three quarters by the Bruins’ top shooter Kayla Huss, as she scored 21 points in just two and half quarters of work. Along with Huss, three other Bruins scored in double figures for the game. Oak Harbor junior Valerie Hartman scored 17 points and hit five three-pointers during the game. During her final game as a Wildcat Jamie Armstrong scored 15 points with seven rebounds. The final game of the season was tough on the players and their coach, as it was also the last time Bull and Sarah Boon will step foot on the hardwood to play basketball for the Wildcats.This is kind of bittersweet because I wish we would have won more, said Bull. But I know that next year they will be even better. I have had these seniors with me the whole way, said Oak Harbor head coach Dwight Lundstrom. I feel like they are kind of my kids and I’m sad to see them go. But we feel really good about next year because we will return a lot of experience.Oak Harbor’s future looks bright as they will return seven players to the varsity squad, including the team’s on-court leader Hartman, three-point threat Manibusan, and sophomore Shirley Spears, who pulled down nine rebounds and scored seven points against the Bruins.We are excited for next year but it will be kind of hard without Molly and Jamie, said Spears. Cascade 76, Oak Harbor 59 Cascade 15 24 26 11 – 76 Oak Harbor 15 16 16 12 – 59 Cascade: Huss 21, Leinhard 6, Baines 4, Bekins 3, Sullivan 12, Selvidge 2, Bouvy 4, Anderson 14, Smoke 10. Oak Harbor: Bull 6, Hartman 17, Brundidge 2, Manibusan 6, Armstrong 15, White 2, Spears 7, King 4. 3-point goals-Huss 2, Sullivan 1, Hartman 5, Manibusan 2. JV: Cascade def. Oak Harbor. Records: Cascade 12-2 in league, 18-2 overall. Oak Harbor 2-12, 4-16. “