The St Mary Cardinal girls finished their regular season against two top 5 teams. The Cardinals faced the Class A #5 team, the Hamlin Chargers, on Friday, February 14th. St Mary then traveled to Centerville to face the undefeated and Class B #1 team, Centerville Tornadoes.
At the DWU Culver’s Classic in Mitchell on Friday, the Chargers earned a 61-50 victory over the Cardinals. Madala Hanson had a game-high 18 points with four rebounds. Addison Libis added 11 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Jenna Miller finished with nine points, three rebounds, and three steals. Maddyn LeBrun ended with eight points and six rebounds.
The schedule did not get any easier for the Cardinals to finish their regular season. St Mary got locked into a back and forth battle with the Tornadoes on Tuesday, February 18th. The Cardinals held a 13-10 lead with 1:45 to play in the opening quarter, but Centerville ended the quarter with a 16-14 lead. St Mary outscored the Tornadoes 12-5 in the first four minutes of the second quarter for a 26-21 lead, but the Tornadoes scored the final five points of the half for a 26-26 halftime score.
The third quarter was much like the first half. Both teams held leads at different points, but Centerville took a 42-39 advantage into the fourth quarter. The Tornadoes went on a 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter to build a 49-41 lead with 5:30 to go. The Cardinals fought back to within two points, 54-52, with 1:50 left in the game. Centerville, however, hit three free-throws in the closing minute to secure the 57-52 win.
Brianna Griffin finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Miller added 13 points, four rebounds, four assists, and six steals. Hanson had 11 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. LeBrun had six points and seven rebounds.
