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CROFTON — The Cedar Catholic Lady Trojans turned away Ponca in the opening round of the C2-8 Sub-District Tournament here Feb. 13, 55-36 then took on unbeaten Crofton in the finals and fell by a 54-34 tally to end the 2023-24 campaign with an 11-14 record.
In the C2-8 finals, the Lady Warriors jumped out to a 31-14 lead by the halftime break with a dozen points in the first eight minutes and 19 in the second period compared to five and nine for the Lady Trojans.
Cedar Catholic did win the third quarter 14-8 to give the Lady Trojans a glimmer of hope, but Crofton denied any chances for the upset, closing out the game 15-6 in the final frame to claim its 24th win of the season and remain unbeaten heading into the districts.
Senior Katy Jones and freshman Anisten Wortmann led a balanced Cedar Catholic scoring attack with nine points apiece.
Addison Walter and Lauren Bernecker each added five and Bailey Hochstein and Samantha Pick each chipped in three.
Walter pulled down 10 rebounds on the night and Wortmann handed out a couple of assists. Jones and Bernecker each registered a couple of steals.
Offensive rebounds and turnovers were a difference in the game as Crofton yanked down 14 offensive boards compared to five for the Lady Trojans and Cedar Catholic turned the ball over 26 times.
In the opening round, which turned out to be long-time Ponca head coach, Bob Hayes’, final game of his career, a great second quarter for the Lady Trojans added 15 points to a 13-10 advantage after the first frame to send the teams to the intermission with the Lady Trojans in front comfortably, 30-12.
Cedar added five points to the lead in the third period before coasting to the 55-36 final.
The Lady Trojan defense limited the Lady Indians to just 25.5% shooting from the field (12-of-47) and had 14 steals which led to 19 points.
Walter led four Lady Trojans in double figures in the contest with 13, Katelyn Arens tossed in 12 and Bernecker and Wortmann each added 10.
Walter just missed a doubledouble, grabbing nine missed shots, Arens was right up against a doubledouble with eight boards.
Arens also handed out four assists on the night, Jones dished out three. Jones and Bernecker contributed three steals.
Crofton is set to take on the Lady Chanticleers in Crofton on Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in the C2-1 District finals.
Cedadr 5 9 14 6 — 34 Crofton 12 19 8 15 — 54 P=Points, R=Rebounds, A=Assists, S=Steals, B=Blocks. CEDAR CATHOLIC (11-14): Bailey Hochstein 1-2 1-2 3P, 3R; McKinlee Lammers 0-3 0-2 0P, 1S; Katy Jones 1-3 6-8 9P, 2R, 1A, 2S; Katelyn Arens 0-2 0-2 0P, 3R, 1A, 1S, 1B; Lauren Bernecker 2-5 1-2 5P, 1R, 2S, 2B; Anisten Wortmann 3-9 2-4 9P, 5R, 2A, 1S, 1B; Samantha Pick 1-3 0-0 3P, 1A; Grace Wortmann 0-0 0-0 0P, 1R; Addison Walter 2-8 1-2 5P, 10R, 1A, 1S, 4B. CROFTON (24-0): Cassie Allen 1-5 7-8 10P; Sammie Allen 3-14 4-4 12P; Lexi Wiebelhaus 1-3 1-1 3P; Jordyn Arens 2-3 0-0 4P; Jaida Allen 1-1 0-0 3P; Hannah Schieffer 1-2 0-0 2P; Caitlin Guenther 2-11 0-2 4P; Ellie Tramp 3-13 2-3 9P; Jaisie Janssen 3-5 1-4 7P. Cedar 13 17 13 12 — 55 Ponca 10 2 8 16 — 36
CEDAR CATHOLIC: Hochstein 1-3 0-0 2P, 2R, 1A, 2S; Lammers 1-5 2-2 4P, 3R, 1A, 1S; Jones 0-4 0-2 0P, 3R, 3A, 3S; Arens 5-13 2-2 12P, 8R, 4A, 1S; Bernecker 4-6 0-0 10P, 5R, 1A, 3S; A. Wortmann 5-10 0-0 10P, 5R, 3A, 2S, 2B; Samantha Pick 0-2 0-0 0P, 1R; Savannah Pick 0-2 0-0 0P, 1R; G. Wortmann 2-5 0-0 4P, 2R; Camryn Loecker 0-1 0-0 0P, 1R, 1B; Walter 5-8 2-5 13P, 9R, 1A, 2S.
PONCA (8-14): Avery McAfee 1-1 2-2 5P; Lily Korth 5-14 3-5 13P; Ava Voss 0-1 0-0 0P; Peighton James 0-2 0-0 0P; Aix Hughes 3-17 1-7 7P; Emma Uthof 1-3 0-2 2P; Jaeden Hughes 2-4 1-2 5P; Sophia Cleveland 0-3 0-0 0P; Emerson Ehlers 0-2 4-4 4P.
