St. Vincent showed the kind of fight that could pay dividends in the postseason.
But on Feb. 17, the Lady Indians’ comeback came up just short.
Despite rallying from a double-digit deficit and tying the game late, St. Vincent fell to Class 4 Cardinal Ritter 59-54 on Feb. 17 at the St. Vincent High School gymnasium. Cardinal Ritter improved to 11-11, while the Class 3 Lady Indians dropped to 19-6.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” St. Vincent coach Mel Kirn said. “When you get down to a good team like that, a lot of teams think there’s no way we’re going to come back. But our girls just kept fighting and fighting.”
Cardinal Ritter jumped out early, building a 23-14 lead after the first quarter behind hot shooting and quick guard play. St. Vincent settled in during the second period, matching the Lady Lions with 14 points to trail 39-28 at halftime. The Lady Indians began chipping away in the third quarter, using defensive pressure and improved rebounding to close the gap. St. Vincent outscored Cardinal Ritter 15-9 in the period and continued the push in the fourth, eventually tying the game at 50-50 with about two minutes remaining.
“We got down probably 12 or 14 points at one time, and our girls just kept fighting,” Kirn said. “We tied it up with about two minutes to go.”
Cardinal Ritter responded with key free throws and a clutch three-pointer from standout guard Nylah Scales, who finished with a game-high 29 points, including four three-pointers.
St. Vincent still had chances late but couldn’t convert in the final seconds.
Kate Rubel led the Lady Indians with 18 points, while Brie Rubel added 17 and Halle Christisen contributed 5. St. Vincent shot an efficient 58.8 percent from the field and scored 34 points in the paint but struggled to overcome Cardinal Ritter’s perimeter shooting and freethrow accuracy.
Kirn credited several players for their defensive effort against Cardinal Ritter’s quick guards, including Aubrey Emmendorfer, Rylee Robinson and Paige Leible.
“They was in their face the whole game,” Kirn said. “It was a fast-paced game. They had some really quick guards.”
Despite the loss, Kirn said the performance proved something important.
“Sometimes you’ve got to realize you got beat by a better team,” he said. “But the way we played last night, we know we can play with anybody now.”
