The quarterfinal round in class 2A opened this morning at the Girls’ State High School Basketball Tournament.
Top ranked Mid-Prairie opened the third quarter by outscoring Unity Christian 13-3 in a 48-39 victory. The game was close in the first half as Mid-Prairie
managed just 29-percent shooting but Unity Christian could not take advantage as the Knights committed 17-turnovers in the opening half. Mid-Prairie coach Lisa Doser says a slow start offensively was not a surprise, as players often start out with a case of the nerves at the state tournament. Unity Christian coach Glen Bouma says the start of the third quarter was the difference as they scored early and then went four minutes without scoring. He says the scoring droughts have been a problem all year.
Unity could have built a lead in the opening half. The Knights shot
44-percent but at the break had more turnovers than shots.
For the game, Unity had 33-turnovers. The Hawks will play fourth ranked Underwood in the semifinal round. Fourth-ranked Underwood got 23-points
from sophomore Meghan Brue in 49-33 win over Carlisle.
Defense was also a factor as Underwood held Carlisle scoreless for a
10-minute eight-second stretch in the second half. Brue says they really stress defense and said at halftime they wanted to keep Carlisle from scoring.