The fifth-seeded Harrisburg girls fell to eventual runner-up and top-seeded Salisbury 52-27 in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 7 tournament Wednesday night in Sturgeon. 

With the loss, Harrisburg bids farewell to starting seniors Emma Fischer and Abby Rosson, along with head coach Ryan Richardson, who will take over as Activities Director in Hallsville next year.

“The reality of a season being over is starting to wake up. The reality of maybe not coaching again, I don’t know if that’s hit home yet or not,” Richardson said the day after the game.

After 16 years coaching girls’ basketball, the last seven of which have been in Harrisburg, Richardson will step away from the court after this season.

“I love it,” he said about coaching. “I love the grind of it. I love the competitiveness of it. I love the chess match. It’s an addiction. But I am looking forward to devoting the same amount of energy, and focus, and effort to Hallsville athletics in general.”

Harrisburg upset fourth-seeded New Franklin 51-41 in the opening round but couldn’t stop the hot shooting of Salisbury’s Tori Ricketts, who was 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc. The Panthers opened the game with three straight 3-pointers, leading to a 15-6 advantage after one quarter. By halftime, the Panthers held a 24-12 lead.

Richardson told his players at halftime to just keep playing with the confidence that they have in their ability.

“We felt like we left points out there,” he said. “We felt like we should have had the lead at halftime. And the girls believed that as much as we did.”

Salisbury once again took control of the game in the second half, outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 9-4 in the first four minutes to put the game out of reach.

Harrisburg never quit. A 3-point shot by Jaidyn Stephenson a minute into the fourth quarter temporarily lifted the spirits of the Lady Bulldogs. But Salisbury answered with a triple from Ricketts 30 seconds later to spark an eight-point run to put the game away.

Ricketts led all scorers with 25 points, followed by Julia Sloan with 11.

Fischer and Rosson finished with six and seven points, respectively, in their final game in the red and white.

“I can’t say enough good things about Emma Fischer and the Fischer family in general,” said Richardson, who coached all three sisters during his time in Harrisburg.

Richardson said that when Abby Rosson was a freshman, he wasn’t sure what role she would actually play, if any, on the varsity level. “With her strength and speed and agility, her game elevated so much, and she became a threat not only on defense, but she became a huge threat offensively, and she learned to control her body and got stronger along the way.”

Harrisburg finishes the season just under .500 at 13-14 overall. And while the team closes the season without a winning record, Richardson said he is leaving the program in great shape. “The cupboard’s not dry. They lose two seniors, but they bring back a wealth of experience. What a lot of people don’t see is we’ve got some young coached players that played at the JV level that I think are going to be able to step in and play next year and be a factor right away.”