Lady Indians advance in route fashion
BY NICK CORN
Mission accomplished. The Lady Indians first team high fives teammates as they leave the court midway through the 3rd vs. Central Burden. St. Paul will look to make back-to-back state appearances, facing South Haven in the Sub-State Championship on Saturday.
Sydnee Rice attempts a layup after a steal in the Lady Indians win over Central Burden.
St. Paul has proven to be a tough team to beat regardless of the circumstances, but when they are hitting from three, your chances decrease significantly. Central Burden found this to be true Thursday night as they faced the Lady Indians in St. Paul for a chance at making it to the sub-state finals. St. Paul drained 10 treys in route to a 56-29 victory.
The Lady Indians came out aggressive on both ends of the court, playing stellar defense and shooting lights out in the first, building a 25-5 lead after one. After further extending their lead, St. Paul went lukewarm as the Lady Raiders’ defense stepped up the intensity, but the Lady Indians didn’t give up many points either, holding a 36-10 lead at halftime.
St. Paul was only able to outscore Burden 20-19 in the second half, but their dominant first half effort allowed them the flexibility to get younger girls into the game and give key players rest for the championship. The backups played their role well, keeping the game out of reach.
Senior Ashton Wood led St. Paul with 15 points and three long balls in the game. Josie Albertini added 10 points and two from deep. Katelin O’Brien put nine points on the board, including a triple, and Aubrey Corn hit two treys for a six-point game off the bench. Keyahnah Burk and Holly Hutcherson scored five apiece.
The Lady Indians will face four-loss South Haven on Saturday at 6:00pm in a battle of top-ten teams. South Haven finished the year ranked tenth in 1A-1, while the Lady Indians are ranked third.
BOX SCORE
SPHS 25 11 15 5 FINAL 56
CHS 5 5 9 10 29
ST PAUL: WOOD 15, ALBERTINI 10, O’BRIEN 9, CORN 6, BURK 5, HUTCHERSON 5, GAHMAN 3, S. RICE 2, R. RICE 1
3-PT FG: WOOD 3, ALBERTINI 2, CORN 2, BURK 1, GAHMAN 1, O’BRIEN1