By Matthew Clark
GateHouse News Service
MANHATTAN — Defensively, it might not have been Berean Academy’s best outing and, at times, even caused coach Kristen Wiebe to shake her head in disgust.
However, the Warriors used a 44-point second half — and a stronger second-half defensive effort — to knock off St. Mary’s Colgan, 64-53 Wednesday in the first round of the Class 2A girl’s state basketball tournament at Bramlege Coliseum in Manhattan.
In the first half, it was all Colgan (20-4) who exploited less-than-expected defensive play from the Warriors (21-3).
Colgan built up an 8-point lead twice in the first half, only to have the Warriors cut it to 2 on both occasions.
“I knew we could play better,” Wiebe said. “We just had to keep in close, and we felt good about that.”
In the second half, the Warriors used a staunch defense, and senior Janelle Rust picked up 23 of her game-high 31 points to give the Warriors the advantage.
On top of that, Rust had seen the doctor the day before with an illness, but Wiebe said she was still determined to play.
“She was going to gut it out,” Wiebe said. “She is a big-time player.”
The Panthers never relinquished the lead until a pair of free-throws by Berean’s Libby Witte tied the game at 32 with just less than three minutes left in the third quarter.
Berean got their first lead of the game after Kayla Wilgers drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with just more than 1:30 left in the frame, but the Panthers responded with a jumper from Annie Dellasega.
But, the Warriors had the last word in the quarter after Rust hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Berean Academy a 40-38 lead heading into the fourth.
“I think that took a lot of the wind out of our sails,” said Colgan coach Megan Simmons.
In the fourth, the Warriors were able to build up their own 8-point lead — twice — the last coming with 3:54 left.
Rust increased the lead to 10 with 3:14 remaining on a lay-up before Simmons was forced to call time out. But, from there, the Warriors never looked back.
Berean will take on top-seeded Olpe, who picked up a 54-40 win over Lebo in the first round.
ST. MARY’S-COLGAN (20-4) — Allison McCormick 2-7 6-7 12, Annie Dellasega 6-9 0-0 12, Ashley Werner 4-9 3-3 11, Katie Hayes 3-9 1-2 7, Molly Marquardt 2-5 3-3- 7, Alexandra Cedeño 1-4 0-2 2, Maggie Sloan 1-2 0-1 2, Kathryn Wolfe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 13-18 53.
BEREAN ACADEMY (21-3) — Janelle Rust 10-20 8-11 31, Mallory Zuercher 4-8 6-6 14, Kayla Wilgers 3-6 0-1 8, Libby Witte 1-3 3-4 5, Kristin Khosravipour 2-7 0-0 4, Makayla Ladwig 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Barron 0-1 0-2 0. Totals: 21-48 17-24 64.
St. Mary’s-C. 13 10 15 15 —53
Berean Acad. 10 10 20 24 —64
Total fouls — SMC 21, BA 18. Fouled out — BA: Wilgers. 3-point goals — SMC 2-8 (McCormick 2-7, Wolfe 0-1), BA 5-13 (Wilgers 2-5, Rust 3-7, Zuercher 0-1). Rebounds — SMC 31 (Werner, Dellasega 7), BA 27 (Rust 6). Assists — SMC 5 (Dellasega 2), BA 4 (Zuercher 2). Turnovers — SMC 25 (Werner 6, McCormick 6), BA 14 (Zuercher 4). Blocked shots — SMC 0, BA 1 (Zuercher 1). Steals — SMC 6 (McCormick 4), BA 13 (Zuercher 7).
Friday’s games
Semifinals
Berean Academy vs. Olpe 3 p.m.
Hill City vs. Osborne 6:30 p.m.
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By Matthew Clark
GateHouse News Service
MANHATTAN — Defensively, it might not have been Berean Academy’s best outing and, at times, even caused coach Kristen Wiebe to shake her head in disgust.
However, the Warriors used a 44-point second half — and a stronger second-half defensive effort — to knock off St. Mary’s Colgan, 64-53 Wednesday in the first round of the Class 2A girl’s state basketball tournament at Bramlege Coliseum in Manhattan.
In the first half, it was all Colgan (20-4) who exploited less-than-expected defensive play from the Warriors (21-3).
Colgan built up an 8-point lead twice in the first half, only to have the Warriors cut it to 2 on both occasions.
“I knew we could play better,” Wiebe said. “We just had to keep in close, and we felt good about that.”
In the second half, the Warriors used a staunch defense, and senior Janelle Rust picked up 23 of her game-high 31 points to give the Warriors the advantage.
On top of that, Rust had seen the doctor the day before with an illness, but Wiebe said she was still determined to play.
“She was going to gut it out,” Wiebe said. “She is a big-time player.”
The Panthers never relinquished the lead until a pair of free-throws by Berean’s Libby Witte tied the game at 32 with just less than three minutes left in the third quarter.
Berean got their first lead of the game after Kayla Wilgers drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with just more than 1:30 left in the frame, but the Panthers responded with a jumper from Annie Dellasega.
But, the Warriors had the last word in the quarter after Rust hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Berean Academy a 40-38 lead heading into the fourth.
“I think that took a lot of the wind out of our sails,” said Colgan coach Megan Simmons.
In the fourth, the Warriors were able to build up their own 8-point lead — twice — the last coming with 3:54 left.
Rust increased the lead to 10 with 3:14 remaining on a lay-up before Simmons was forced to call time out. But, from there, the Warriors never looked back.
Berean will take on top-seeded Olpe, who picked up a 54-40 win over Lebo in the first round.
ST. MARY’S-COLGAN (20-4) — Allison McCormick 2-7 6-7 12, Annie Dellasega 6-9 0-0 12, Ashley Werner 4-9 3-3 11, Katie Hayes 3-9 1-2 7, Molly Marquardt 2-5 3-3- 7, Alexandra Cedeño 1-4 0-2 2, Maggie Sloan 1-2 0-1 2, Kathryn Wolfe 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 13-18 53.
BEREAN ACADEMY (21-3) — Janelle Rust 10-20 8-11 31, Mallory Zuercher 4-8 6-6 14, Kayla Wilgers 3-6 0-1 8, Libby Witte 1-3 3-4 5, Kristin Khosravipour 2-7 0-0 4, Makayla Ladwig 1-3 0-0 2, Morgan Barron 0-1 0-2 0. Totals: 21-48 17-24 64.
St. Mary’s-C. 13 10 15 15 —53
Berean Acad. 10 10 20 24 —64
Total fouls — SMC 21, BA 18. Fouled out — BA: Wilgers. 3-point goals — SMC 2-8 (McCormick 2-7, Wolfe 0-1), BA 5-13 (Wilgers 2-5, Rust 3-7, Zuercher 0-1). Rebounds — SMC 31 (Werner, Dellasega 7), BA 27 (Rust 6). Assists — SMC 5 (Dellasega 2), BA 4 (Zuercher 2). Turnovers — SMC 25 (Werner 6, McCormick 6), BA 14 (Zuercher 4). Blocked shots — SMC 0, BA 1 (Zuercher 1). Steals — SMC 6 (McCormick 4), BA 13 (Zuercher 7).
Friday’s games
Semifinals
Berean Academy vs. Olpe 3 p.m.
Hill City vs. Osborne 6:30 p.m.
