By Colin Altevogt
Contributing Writer
FORT WAYNE ââ?¬â?? Like a 300 pound man in a Speedo, this one wasnââ?¬â?¢t pretty for the first three quarters. But what a game it turned out to be.
With each team seemingly unable to hold onto the ball until the closing period, the clash between Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran and Fort Wayne Luers — two of the stateââ?¬â?¢s prominent Class 3A girls programs — spun out of control at times. In a rematch of a Dec. 16 game, Class 3A 16th-ranked Luers once again defeated the rival 3A No. 10 Cadets, 46-42.
But it wasn�t easy.
The Knights built leads as large 15 in the third quarter, but could not put away the turnover-plagued Cadets until the closing seconds in this Summit Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game. Concordia and Luers, perhaps the two best teams in the conference, were seeded fourth and fifth respectively in the holiday tourney. The Knights, the two-time defending tournament champions, will most likely face top-seeded Fort Wayne South, whom they have already defeated this season, in a semi-final game on Friday.
Luers jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead in the first quarter before substituting in four players at the 4:32 mark in the first quarter. Both teams seemed to be preparing for a deep tourney run by using the bench, perhaps in an attempt to keep fresher legs in the later games. Concordia coach Dave Miller, who usually uses only six players extensively, allowed all of his roster to see action in the first two quarters.
In a slow first half, the Knights took an 18-11 lead into the locker room.
Concordia looked sluggish after intermission. The Cadets had problems hanging on to the ball and Luers capitalized, padding its lead to a comfortable 15 points with 2:41 remaining in the third quarter.
With the game threatening to turn into a rout, Concordia relied on forward Chanell Ridley and guard Sara Thieme, the Cadets two returning seniors. Thieme scored on a three-point play and hit another pair of free throws with no time on the clock to end the period, keeping her team within reach.
The Concordia deficit was a manageable ten points heading into the fourth quarter. And then things got interested.
Needing a comeback, Concordia put the ball in the hands of their star. Ridley touched the ball nearly every time down the court and was immediately swarmed by two or three Knight defenders. The Miami of Ohio recruit still scored 23, including sinking 15 of 17 from the foul line.
The physical game nearly became a free throw shooting contest down the stretch. Concordia hit 11 of 14 from the stripe in the fourth quarter compared to Luers� 8 of 13 shooting.
Concordia, whose roster boasts only eight players, had a problem with the abundance of fouls. Sophomore forward Alissa Goeglein picked up her third mid-way through the second quarter and saw limited action before fouling out with 5:39 remaining in the game.
After Concordia cut the lead down to six in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, Luers bulked the lead back into double digits after Amber Gottfried put back her own miss with 4:46 remaining.
The Cadets stormed back again, going on a 9-0 run to pull within two after Thieme drained a three. While Concordia started a full-court press, Luers star MarKee Martin slipped behind the defense and scored an uncontested lay-up, pushing the lead to 39-35.
Ridley hit another pair of free throws on the other end, but Luers answered with a pair of free throws by Kelsey Wyss and another uncontested lay-up on the fast break by Lavirna Dawson, who had a team-high 10 points off the bench.
Once again, Ridley pulled her team within striking distance, hitting a shot and nailing one of two free throws after being knocked hard to the ground by Luers sophomore Amanda Pedro, who fouled out on the play.
Concordia sophomore Catherine Farny put back a Ridley miss to cut the deficit to one point and Thieme knocked the ball loose to teammate Julie Reinking to give the Cadets possession with 30.5 seconds on the clock.
The Cadets, however, could not capitalize as Martin stole a kick-out pass intended for Concordia point guard Angel Fincher.
Martin sunk both shots from the line to give the Knights a three point lead with 15 seconds left and Fincher was called for a charge on a drive to the basket. Martin hit one of two from the stripe, creating a two possession deficit and icing the game for the Knights.
The two teams could meet again in the sectional tournament in March.
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