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02/23/2006: "Girls need one more win to get back to state"
One more win and the Crofton girls will be headed to Lincoln to defend their Class C1 state championship of a year ago.
The 20-0 Lady Warriors topped a familiar foe to reach the district tournament finals. They beat Norfolk Catholic in the second nail-biter between the two teams in a week, 44-40. Crofton will face 15-5 Atkinson West Holt at 7 pm in Pierce on Friday, Feb. 24 for the C1-4 district championship and a berth in the state tournament. Whether they win or lose on Friday, the Crofton girls should get a berth in the state tournament, as they have the highest power points among all the C1 teams in the state, which would gain them a wild card berth, but a lower seed.
The sub-district finals was no automatic berth, even though the girls had beaten the Lady Knights only a week earlier. Catholic raced to an 11-4 first period lead. But Crofton came back and outscored the NC gals 9-3 in the second stanza to close the gap to 14-13 by halftime. The Lady Warriors, thanks in part to a 9-0 run (7 by Amber Hegge), tied the game at 25-25 at the close of the third frame.
But then Crofton went on a tear to open the fourth quarter. Crofton outscored Catholic 10-4 to open the fourth period and held a 37-31 lead with under four minutes to play. However, just as they had in the first game, Norfolk cut the lead and had edged to within two, 39-37, with just over two minutes left in the game.
But as quickly as they caught up, the Lady Knights went cold, giving Crofton the chance they needed ... and siezed. The Lady Warriors opened the gap to 43-37 in the final two minutes of the game, securing the final outcome. Crofton helped themselves tremendously at the free throw line where they canned 16 of 21 tries.
Norfolk Catholic ............... 11 14 25 40
Crofton ............................... 4 13 25 44
CHS STATS Scorers Tierney Schumacher 5, Nicole Van Heek 11, Amber Hegge 21, Brooke Nelson 1, Bridgette Lancaster 2, Danielle Arens 4. FG 14/31 45.2%. FT 16/21. Assists Schumacher 1, Van Heek 1, Hegge 2, Nelson 4, Arens 1, Lancaster 1, Molly Van Heek 1, Morgan Wilken 1. Rebounds C28-20. Schumacher 4, N. Van Heek 3, Hegge 7, Nelson 4, Arens 7, M. Van Heek 1, Wilken 2. Steals Schumacher 2, Hegge 1, Wilken 1. Blocks Schumacher 1, Hegge 3, Arens 4. Turnovers 23.
The Lady Warriors got to the sub-district finals by beating Creighton 71-35 on Feb. 14. CHS doubled the score on their foes, 24-12, in the first period and exploded for a 42-16 halftime lead. Crofton shot 54.1 percent from the field and forced 28 turnovers on Creighton while outrebounding them 48-28.
Creighton ......................... 12 16 26 35
Crofton .............................. 24 42 58 71
CHS STATS Scorers Tierney Schumacher 25, Amber Hegge 18, Brooke Nelson 4, Danielle Arens 7, Katie Sage 2, Molly Van Heek 7, Morgan Wilken 8. FG 33/61 54.1%. FT 5/11. Assists Schumacher 1, Nicole Van Heek 2, Hegge 1, Nelson 5, Arens 1, Bridgette Lancaster 2, M. Van Heek 1, Wilken 2. Rebounds Cro42-28. Schumacher 4, N. Van Heek 3, Hegge 9, Nelson 1, Arens 5, Tara Harmelink 2, Sage 2, Maddy Larson 1, Lancaster 3, Caitlin Jones 3, M. Van Heek 5, Wilken 4. Steals Schumacher 2, N. Van Heek 1, Hegge 6, Nelson 3, Arens 4, Lancaster 2, Wilken 1. Blocks Hegge 1, Arens 1. Turnovers 14.
