The Lady Centurions marched through the quarterfinal round of the LIT on Friday night, opening up a 10-point lead by halftime and increasing it to 20-plus in the 2nd half behind Allison Karst's 16 points. CAL found a rhythm early and played solid defense most of the game. Highlands appears to be a better team than this outing illustrated. Katie Allen's athleticism/body control (16 points) and Bekah Towles overall game showed flashes of brillance but the team lacked consistency.

Louisville Christian 57 Highlands 37

Highlands 11 11 3 12 37

 

Louisville Christian 17 15 14 11 57

 

Louisville Invitational Tournament at Bellarmine

Highlands (13-7) -- Cutter 4, Allen 12, Towles 7, Abner 2, Daley 2, Dunn 2, Watson 2, Fisse 6.

Louisville Christian (17-4) -- Slaughter 14, Walden 6, Dow 12, Marshall 2, Karst 16, Joss 2, Dale 2, Erickson 3.

Up and down like a lot of teams this year.

CAL 57 Highlands 37

 

CAL’s Lady Centurions successfully completed this mission by diverting the flight plans of Highlands’ Lady Bluebirds (or just LadyBirds, if you prefer) throughout the contest. Katie Allen displayed impressive body control and talent, scoring 12 points inside and out during the 1st half , but Antonita Slaughter responded with 10 opening-half points, well on her way to another statistical double-double. Another positive sign for the Lady Centurions was offensive balance as freshman guard China Dow and senior Allison Karst chipped in 8 points apiece before the break for a 32-22 CAL advantage.

 

Defensive adjustments in the 2nd half forced Highlands to look for another scorer with Katie Allen limited to zero points and they struggled, scoring only 3 points in the 3rd quarter. In contrast, Karst added 8 to raise her point total to 16 in the same period CAL’s Emily Walden broke down the opponents’ defense with her drives, likely putting the game out of reach at 46-25. Coach Rice and Highlands’ Coach Walz-Richey substituted freely in the closing half, though their intentions may have differed. Off the bench, Makenzie Dale, Abbie Erickson, and Kate Joss contributed to the scoring and rebounding effort for the final result.

 

Sideline notes

--With eight players in the scoring column and double-digit steals, a balanced team effort was evident, as was the winning result.

--Highlands had one of those nights. It is clear that Allen and Bekah Towles possess the skills to play with anyone in the state, but the lack of consistency with the team shooting about 30% for the game spelled defeat. Vanessa Fisse ignited a scoring spark off the bench with 6 points and may earn/deserve more playing time.

 

Game scoring by quarter

CAL 17 15 14 11 57

Highlands 11 11 3 12 37

 

Player statistics

CAL: Allison Karst (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Antonita Slaughter (14 points, 10 rebounds), China Dow (12 points, 9 rebounds), Emily Walden (6 points), Abbie Erickson (3 points, 2 rebounds), Makenzie Dale (2 points, 2 rebounds), Casey Marshall (2 points), Kate Joss (2 points)

Highlands: Katie Allen (12 points), Bekah Towles (7 points), Vanessa Fisse (6 points), Hope Cutter (4 points), Jesse Daley (2 points), Kelsey Dunn (2 points), Sydney Watson (2 points), Ava Abner (2 points)

CAL 57 Highlands 37

 

CAL’s Lady Centurions successfully completed this mission by diverting the flight plans of Highlands’ Lady Bluebirds (or just LadyBirds, if you prefer) throughout the contest. Katie Allen displayed impressive body control and talent, scoring 12 points inside and out during the 1st half , but Antonita Slaughter responded with 10 opening-half points, well on her way to another statistical double-double. Another positive sign for the Lady Centurions was offensive balance as freshman guard China Dow and senior Allison Karst chipped in 8 points apiece before the break for a 32-22 CAL advantage.

 

Defensive adjustments in the 2nd half forced Highlands to look for another scorer with Katie Allen limited to zero points and they struggled, scoring only 3 points in the 3rd quarter. In contrast, Karst added 8 to raise her point total to 16 in the same period CAL’s Emily Walden broke down the opponents’ defense with her drives, likely putting the game out of reach at 46-25. Coach Rice and Highlands’ Coach Walz-Richey substituted freely in the closing half, though their intentions may have differed. Off the bench, Makenzie Dale, Abbie Erickson, and Kate Joss contributed to the scoring and rebounding effort for the final result.

 

Sideline notes

--With eight players in the scoring column and double-digit steals, a balanced team effort was evident, as was the winning result.

--Highlands had one of those nights. It is clear that Allen and Bekah Towles possess the skills to play with anyone in the state, but the lack of consistency with the team shooting about 30% for the game spelled defeat. Vanessa Fisse ignited a scoring spark off the bench with 6 points and may earn/deserve more playing time.

 

Game scoring by quarter

CAL 17 15 14 11 57

Highlands 11 11 3 12 37

 

Player statistics

CAL: Allison Karst (16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals), Antonita Slaughter (14 points, 10 rebounds), China Dow (12 points, 9 rebounds), Emily Walden (6 points), Abbie Erickson (3 points, 2 rebounds), Makenzie Dale (2 points, 2 rebounds), Casey Marshall (2 points), Kate Joss (2 points)

Highlands: Katie Allen (12 points), Bekah Towles (7 points), Vanessa Fisse (6 points), Hope Cutter (4 points), Jesse Daley (2 points), Kelsey Dunn (2 points), Sydney Watson (2 points), Ava Abner (2 points)

 

No wonder Highlands lost they didn't have one rebound.

"No wonder Highlands lost they didn't have one rebound."

 

Sorry, but when I wrote the summary I only had team (not individual player) rebounds for Highlands :ohbrother:. As I recall, the team rebounds were close. I can check to be sure if it's important to you.