CAL's Lady Centurions defeat Manual's Lady Crimsons in a close one and advance to the 7th Region championship game against Sacred Heart.

 

Stats/details to follow...

Tiebreaker or back breaker? In the 7th Region semifinal game against Manual, the Lady Centurions won the battle of best two out of three this season. After suffering their first defeat of the season to Manual in the championship game of the Republic Bank Holiday Classic, CAL avenged the loss by beating them in the closing seconds on their Senior Night. The decisive game was no exception as the outcome wasn’t determined until the final buzzer sounded on a last-second miss by the Lady Crimsons.

 

Game summary

Earlier in the afternoon, Antonita Slaughter admitted to me that she was “nervous” about the game. She wasn’t alone. The teams took turns rushing passes and shots in the opening minutes, leading to turnovers and empty trips. As they settled in, it was apparent that both were determined to drive the ball inside. With some success, Manual’s Avery Jones bucketed four points, but CAL’s Allison Karst kept the Lady Centurions within reach.

End of 1st quarter: Manual 13 CAL 12

 

The lead-changing trend and aggressive defenses continued throughout the 2nd quarter, but other patterns began to perturb the coaches. Manual’s pressing defense found success in creating numerous CAL turnovers, but the Crimsons’ impatient shot selection didn’t allow them to take advantage in spite of outrebounding CAL 24-15 for the half.

Halftime: Manual 23 CAL 21

 

In the first two periods, Manual’s backcourt did an admirable job of face guarding prolific outside shoot Clair Buchanan, but it’s hard to contain a senior captain with court smarts and toughness. She took her turn in the 3rd quarter, swishing two 3-pointers from the 25-foot range and grabbing a lead for CAL that grew to its largest at 38-31 before Manual scored to stay within five points at period’s end.

End of 3rd quarter: CAL 38 Manual 33

 

Foul trouble began to take its toll in the final quarter as CAL forward and rebounder Anna Hart picked up her fifth and inside players Slaughter and Bowman each had four. However, neither team took control from the foul line, uncharacteristically shooting under 60%. Manual found more room to move in the paint and cut CAL’s lead to a single possession more than once before finally knotting the score at 46 on Kara Wright’s steal, layup, and free throw with just under 50 seconds remaining.

 

A final trade of baskets forged the last tie at 48. When CAL turned the ball over, it appeared Manual would be able to run the clock and find an open shot or get fouled in the process. Although Karst and Slaughter had provided most of the offensive punch throughout, Buchanan picked the pocket of Manual’s point guard with about 20 seconds to go and was intentionally fouled on the ensuing layup. Her one free throw was followed by Slaughter’s two on the bonus possession at the 0:12 mark, providing CAL with a 51-48 advantage. Manual’s Kara Wright raced down the court for a shot attempt, got fouled, and made the first free throw attempt to cut the lead to 51-49. A timeout resulted in Manual’s strategy of purposely missing the last free throw in hopes of getting the rebound. The bouncing ball eventually landed in the hands of Avery Jones as she fell to the floor, but she could only produce an errant shot as time expired.

Final: CAL 51 Manual 49

 

Scoring/stats

CAL:

• Individual: Karst 20 (10/15 FT), Slaughter 15 (9 rebounds), Buchanan 11 (7 rebounds), Hart 3 (6 rebounds), Walden 2 (5 rebounds)

• Team: FG 15/32=46.9%, 3 Pt. 2/9=22.2%, FT 19/33=57.6%

Manual:

• Individual: Guess 10 (10 rebounds), Martin 10 (7 rebounds), K. Wright 10 (3 rebounds), Wilson 7 (8 rebounds), Jones 4 (8 rebounds), Harbison 4, Bodine 2, L. Wright 2

• Team: FG 17/60=28.3%, 3 Pt. 1/13=7.7%, FT 14/28=50%

 

Coming up…CAL will face Sacred Heart in Saturday's 5 p.m. 7th Region Championship and the opportunity for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Sounds like an awesome game!

Cal4all, I wish all game recaps could be this way. Nice win and nice recap!

Yes, it was an awesome game, one of those where you say it's a shame one team has to lose. Too bad I don't have pics like paNDA to share.

 

Tonight's 7th region championship should be a good one versus a top-notch, well-coached Sacred Heart team. I'm not predicting a CAL win or loss, but I believe it will be closer than the earlier game where Sacred Heart was on a mission after losing to Assumption and made CAL the victim.

 

Win or lose, it's wonderful for both to reach the regional title game.

Nice win for CAL!