In a game full of ups and downs and big lead swings, Tyrone made the game close until the very end, but lost 59-52 to Forest Hills in the District 6, 4A semifinal game on Feb. 18to end the 2025-2026 season.

It was a difficult but resilient season for the Lady Eagles.

Tyrone lost star senior Alayna Woomer to injury early this season, but instead of giving up, the team regrouped and rebounded to finish the regular season with an impressive 16-6 record and second seed going into the playoffs.

The Lady Eagles responded again on Wednesday by fighting back from a 12-point deficit to eventually take a 10-point lead with just more than a minute to play in the third quarter.

Leading 41-31 with 1:10 to play in the third quarter, Forest Hills got a transition layup from Addi Lashinsky and two free throws and another layup from Morgan Gdula.

Eva Myers opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, and Aivah Maul’s layup with 6:38 to play gave Forest Hills its first lead since halftime.

The press was difficult for Tyrone to deal with, with three key ball handlers who were in foul trouble: Claire Lehman, Lola Woomer, and Brielle Parker.

“We had three starters sitting on the bench,” Whitling said. “It impacted things, but at the same time, they put pressure on, and we did not handle it as well as we needed to.”

The loss ended the high school careers of seniors Rylan Crowell, Lehman, Elise Volders, and Alayna Woomer.

Head Coach Mike Whitling had nothing but positive things to say about his seniors.

“[The seniors] were everything for this team,” Whitling said. “They were supportive of younger players. They were positive in practice and encouraging. I can’t ask for a better group of seniors. I just wish we could have gotten them a better result tonight.”

Lehman had 14 points in her final game before fouling out in the final minute, Crowell scored eight, and Volders had four.

“We had a lot of ups and downs this season,” Crowell said. “With Alayna having her injury, it meant a lot to us to stick together and work as a team. We wanted to keep the underclassmen under our wing, which is a big part of what we talked about throughout the season. We held it together this year as a senior class and tried to be role models for the underclassmen.”

“Laney was a really big part of why we had the record we did,” Crowell said. “I think at the beginning of the year, it took a lot of us to realize how to play without Alayna, but at the end of the day, we played for Alayna.”

While the team will lose three starters to graduation, they still have great talent coming back.

Lola Woomer, who is only a sophomore, led with 17 points, and freshman Raylee Woodring added seven points on Wednesday.

BOX SCORE

FOREST HILLS (59): Gdula 9 4-9 23, Maul 4 6-6 14, Myers 2 2-4 7, Pcola 0 0-0 0, Lashinsky 2 1-2 5, Carpenter 2 4-6 8, Baumgartner 0 0-0 0, Faith 1 0-0 2. Totals — 20 17-27 59.

TYRONE (52): L. Woomer 6 4-6 17, Crowell 2 4-4 8, Parker 1 0-2 2, Lehman 6 0-2 14, Volders 2 0-0 4, Woodring 2 2-4 7, Davis 0 0-0 0, Naylor 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 10-18 52.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Forest Hills 14 11 12 22 — 59

Tyrone 10 14 17 11 — 52

3-point goals: Forest Hills 2 (Gdula, Myers); Tyrone 4 (Lehman 2, Woodring, L. Woomer).

Records: Forest Hills (16-7); Tyrone (16-7).

Officials: Steve Schaff, Neil Cobaugh, Doug Stratton.