Make it a region title three-peat for the Lady Aces. But it was most definitely not an easy task.
It was a grueling 3rd Region championship battle Sunday afternoon between Owensboro Catholic and Muhlenberg County, and the Lady Aces dealt the final blow as they edged out a 53-49 win. It marked the 100th victory for the current group of seniors.
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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Muhlenberg’s lead was slim but steady — the Lady Mustangs couldn’t pull away but the Lady Aces couldn’t break through — through the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
With Catholic (25-10) down by four and time running out, Hannah McKay got them within 47-46 with a traditional three-point play. On Muhlenberg’s next possession, as steal and score by Isabella Henning gave the Lady Aces their first lead of the fourth quarter at 48-47 with 1:22 to play.
Jaycee Noffsinger hit a pair of free throws to put the Lady Mustangs (23-11) up 49-48 with 44.5 seconds left, then McKay’s inside bucket put Catholic back on top.
Caroline Reid came up with back-to-back defensive stops that helped secure the win. With Muhlenberg only down one and inbounding under their own basket, Reid got a hand on the pass to force a turnover.
Henning went 1-for-2 at the free throw line for a 51-49 lead with 9.7 seconds to go, leaving the Lady Mustangs with one last chance. Reid drew a charge in the paint with just 2.3 seconds left.
Catherine Head hit a pair of free throws at the other end to seal the deal and send Catholic to the Sweet 16.
Head coach Michael Robertson was still at a loss for words long after the game was over, simply bragging about how proud he was of his team.
There were times they could have folded. They ended the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 27-20 lead — their biggest advantage of the game — into halftime.
Muhlenberg scored the first eight points of the third quarter and stole back all the momentum to put Catholic on their heels.
“The third quarter I called a timeout,” Robertson said. “I felt a little bit of animosity. We were getting down on ourselves instead of picking each other up, which we had been doing all year. I got on them a little bit, and we woke up. Once we quit getting on each other and just started playing basketball and lift each other up, great things happen just like the comeback we made today.”
Henning continued her string of recent impressive performances, finishing with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting (3-of-4 from long range). McKay added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Muhlenberg’s Destin Armour scored 20 points, while Grace Hauslein added 13 points and six rebounds.
“Armour was phenomenal,” Robertson said. “I can’t say anything bad about her. She led them, kept them in the ball game.”
Owensboro Catholic now moves on to the first round of the state tournament, where they’ll play at 6 p.m. Thursday against 10th Region champion George Rogers Clark (22-10).
BOX SCORE
MCHS 15-5-17-12—49
OCHS 11-16-7-19—53
MCHS (49): Destin Armour (20), Grace Hauslein (13), Sarah-Cate Boggess (7), Jaycee Noffsinger (5), Elisabeth Joines (4)
OCHS (53): Isabella Henning (25), Hannah McKay (12), Spencer Harvey (6), Caroline Reid (4), Ally Maggard (4), Catherine Head (2)
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