Coming in as the #1 seed, the Crofton Lady Warriors are Mid-State Conference Champions for the second year in a row. Along the way, the Warriors defeated O’Neill, Pierce, and Guardian Angels Central Catholic.
Coach Maggie Moon said, “The girls played well as a team over the entire tournament. I think we grew as a team, which is really important for this time of the year. I am happy we were able to get the championship for the second year in a row.” Crofton vs. O’Neill The Lady Warriors competed in the first round of the conference tournament against the O'Neill Eagles at home, defeating the Eagles 77-40.
The Warriors had a very slow start in the first quarter, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run. Coach Maggie Moon called a timeout to regroup. After the timeout, senior Ellie Tramp started the Warriors with an easy bucket. Keeping their momentum, the Lady Warriors finally got ahead ending the second quarter 35-21. Senior Kaylee Mauch stated, “We just need to stay confident and not put pressure on each other.”
After half, the Warriors continued to extend the lead and at the end of the third quarter it was 60-34. The Warriors continued to dominate through the fourth quarter, ending it 77-40. Junior Cassie Allen led the team with 15 points, 3 assists, and went 3 for 4 on the free-throw line. Junior Sammie Allen also contributed with 11 points. The Lady Warriors moved on to the semi-finals against the Pierce Bluejays on Thursday, February 1 at GACC.
Crofton vs. Pierce
Starting off the semi-final round, the Lady Warriors got a two point bucket off the tip. Junior Lexi Wiebelhaus felt motivated, and that helped her to put the bucket in with tons of confidence. The Lady Bluejays responded with a quick bucket by sophomore Abbie Cone (10) to tie the game 2-2.
That didn’t stop the Warriors though, juniors Sammie Allen and Jaida Allen hit two threes to extend the lead 10-4. S. Allen stated, “It felt good to hit a couple shots because I've been off lately.”
Before half, the Lady Warriors led the Bluejays 24-18. Keeping the lead throughout the whole game, ending it 44-34. Wiebelhaus, C.Allen, and J.Allen all contributed with 9 points. Tramp had 5 assists. The Warriors made 18 points off their 21 turnovers; the Warriors only had 15 turnovers themselves. Out-rebounding the Lady Jays by over half, Crofton pulled down 15 defensive and 14 offensive rebounds.
Crofton vs. GACC
At the tip-off of the conference championship, the Lady Warriors had a great defensive steal to get some momentum. Senior Caitlin Guenther got the two-point bucket to put the Warriors up 2-0. The Bluejays ended the quarter with a 9-0 run making it 9-2. Coming out to start the second quarter, the Bluejays made an easy bucket to move the score to 11-2. The Warriors kept their composure ending the half 16-16.
The third quarter was a huge one for the Warriors, holding GACC to only 7 points, while the Warriors added 16 more points to the scoreboard. Heading into the fourth, GACC slowly took away the Warriors’ nine-point lead to tie it up 38-38 with a minute left.
Heading into overtime, the Lady Warriors hit some important free-throws to extend the lead by four. Taking their time, the Warriors kept the ball in their possession for over a minute to keep the Bluejays from scoring. GACC hit a free-throw to get into their press; however, that did not stop the Warriors as they continued to slow the game down.
The leading scorer for the Bluejays was senior Kelsey Steffen (52) with 19 points. Leading the Warriors was Guenther with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and going 3 for 3 on the free-throw line C. Allen added 12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Coach Tiffany Panning stated, “We overcame the challenge of an early game deficit to battle through the whole game.
The girls stuck together through the entire regulation; the belief and experience they had as a team drove them through overtime to catch the win.” The Warriors will be playing the Norfolk Catholic Knights at Norfolk Catholic on Thursday, February 8.