BY NICK CORN
The Lady Indians began their season hosting district rival Chetopa on Friday night, and St. Paul cruised to a 42-point victory. St. Paul put in most of their work on offense in the first half before completely shutting the Lady Green Hornets down in the second half.
Six points from Josie Albertini along with three apiece from Katelin O’Brien and Jordyn Tuck led the Lady Indians to a 15-5 lead after one quarter of play. Albertini scored eight more point and Tuck added six as St. Paul blew up for a 24-point second quarter to stretch the game wide open. Emily Winter scored four in the quarter, and O’Brien, Aubrey Corn, and Raquel Rice each added two points apiece. At halftime, St. Paul held a 39-11 lead.
The second half saw little offense, as the Lady Indians only mustered six third-quarter points, four of which came from O’Brien. Unfortunately for Chetopa, St. Paul clamped down on defense, allowing no points in the third.
The fourth quarter saw a slight increase in offensive output for the Lady Indians, with four points from Tuck and a three-pointer from Corn, St. Paul scored nine points while holding the Lady Green Hornets to just one.
St. Paul cruised to the 54-12 blowout victory. Albertini led the scoring attack with 14 points, while Tuck added 13, and O’Brien scored 11.
Now 1-0, the Lady Indians will continue play next week as they host the early season tournament.
The St. Paul boys’ team will start their season with the tournament, as Chetopa does not have a varsity boys basketball team this season.
BOX SCORE
LADY INDIANS 54, Chetopa 12
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 FINAL
SPHS 15 24 6 9 54
CHS 5 6 0 1 12
St. Paul: Albertini 14, Tuck 13, O’Brien 11, Winter 8, Corn 6, Rice 2
3-PT FG: Corn