It was a win.
That’s how the Borgia basketball Lady Knights treated their first-round win over Cardinal Ritter Monday night, 47-37.
“It was a win and it was ugly,” said Borgia Head Coach Stacia Parsell. “It was something we had talked about last night at practice, how aggressive Cardinal Ritter plays defensively. We wanted to try to take advantage of that. At times it got to us and we turned the ball over and the game was a little closer at the end than it should have been.”
Borgia (13-4) next plays Parkway South. The top-seeded Lady Patriots drilled eighth-seeded Sumner in the opening round, 73-14. Wednesday’s semifinal will tip off at 8 p.m.
“They didn’t get much of a challenge tonight,” Parsell said about Parkway South. “They’re not going to be as tired as we are after this game.”
Cardinal Ritter (11-5) gets Sumner in the next round Wednesday at 5:20 p.m.
Borgia never trailed after Molly Arand drained a three-point basket in the first quarter to give the Lady Knights a 7-4 advantage. She increased the lead by finishing a pass from Emily Grahl after a Cardinal Ritter turnover.
Turnovers by both teams dominated the game as neither squad showed consistent sharp finishing on their plays. The two teams combined to turn the ball over 25 times.
At times, the game got physical and chippy. But no matter whatever happened, Borgia was able to maintain an advantage.
“It seemed that when we were on the verge of blowing them out, they would have a long offensive possession and keep us on the defensive end for a long time. They would find a way to stop the clock and score. It turned into a really sloppy game by the end. We took care of the ball at the end and did what we needed to do to be able to play an awesome Parkway South team Wednesday.”
The Lady Knights led 16-11 after one quarter, 23-16 at the half and 39-22 after three quarters.
Arand hit three three-point baskets among her game-leading 15 points, something the Lady Knights needed with others struggling.
“Each game she’s getting more comfortable and confident shooting the ball,” said Parsell. “She actually handled the ball pretty good tonight. Emily Grahl and Janie Arand had problems. When someone like Molly steps up, it makes it that much easier for us.”
Arand added three rebounds and a steal.
Katie Lindemann had a monster game as well, posting a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Of those, 10 came on the offensive end. She also had a blocked shot and a steal.
Janie Arand scored 11 points and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Grahl netted four points while adding three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Madison Wehking scored three points with one assist and a rebound.
Cassandra Halsted closed with two points and three rebounds.
Also playing were Baylee Godat (one rebound), Megan Jensen, Alexis Sine and Morgan Spradling (six rebounds, one assist and one steal).
Jayla Davis led Cardinal Ritter with 11 points while Chastity Franklin closed with 10.
Rachael Covington scored five points, Kadja Brown added four, India Abernathy, Andranae Wash and Cayla Yates each had two points. Romekia Wallace added one and Brittany Wilbert also played.
