A late defensive stand and offensive rally helped give the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals a road win over the Centerville Tornadoes 47-40 on Friday, February 7th.
The first half was close with neither team gaining much of an advantage. The Cardinals led after the first quarter by just one point at 12-11. St Mary was able to push their lead to four points at 20-16 with 4:30 to go in the second quarter. Centerville ended the first half on a 5-0 run for a 21-20 halftime lead.
The Tornadoes slowly built on their halftime lead and extended it five points at 32-27 with 2:00 to go in the third quarter. That’s when the Cardinal defense took control of the game. St Mary went on a 5-0 run to close out the third quarter to tie the game at 32-32. The Cardinals then held Centerville scoreless in the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter while building a six-point lead at 38-32. By the time Centerville scored in the fourth quarter, St Mary had gone on an 11-0 run. St Mary extended their lead to eight points at 43-35 after a three-point shot by Ella Griffin with just over two minutes to go in the game and then held on to the lead for the win.
Ella Heinitz led the Cardinals with 18 points in the game. Griffin finished with 11 points.
St Mary (9-8) will host the Arlington Cardinals on Friday, February 14th.