A tight, hard-fought game between the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Bobcats was expected and they did not disappoint. After all, the the two teams had already met twice this season, splitting the two contests.

This game was the definition of “close.” The score was tied five times and changed hands on 15 occasions during the 32-minute contest. CHBC’s largest lead was four points – 27-23 late in the first half, while St. Anthony’s biggest margin was six points, 49-43, with 6:24 left to play.

A bucket by Lani Morrison and a three-pointer from Gracie Heckert, however, trimmed that to just one, 49-48, less than 60 seconds later. Abbi Hatton and Lucy Fearday both scored three points to expand the SAHS advantage to five points, but another three by Heckert made it a two-point contest, 55-53.

A pair of free throws by Grace Karolewicz was answered by a Lani Morrison bucket to keep it a two-point spread, 57-55. But over the final 90 seconds, the Lady Bulldogs made four free throws to seal the victory and clinch the first regional championship for St. Anthony since 2019.

“We expected this type of back-and-forth game. It was a dog fight,” Rios said. “There were some momentum changes for both teams. We would come down and score and then they’d come down and score. Those free throws in the fourth quarter helped put us over the top.”

The Lady Bulldogs held a slim 16-15 edge after the opening eight minutes and were still up 19-17 when the Lady Bobcats went on a run. Heckert ignited the 10-4 surge with her first three-pointer of the game. Hallye Morrison added two free throws, Madison Wojcik scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, Lani Morrison hit a pair of foul shots and Heckert added another from the charity stripe to put CHBC on top 27-23.

But Fearday made a free throw and Karolewicz converted a turnover into a bucket getting SAHS to within 27-26 as the teams headed to the locker room at halftime.

“I thought we stuck to our game plan at both ends of the floor,” Rios said. “We knew we had to contain Heckert and (Lani) Morrison, plus we had to execute offensively. We were disciplined and worked the ball inside. We just didn’t shoot very well.”

The third quarter was just a repeat of the first 16 minutes. Fearday scored seven points in the first four minutes, helping the Lady Bulldogs seize a 35-31 lead. But Macee Rodman connected from long range and Karlee Smith hit a short jumper to put CHBC on top.

Karolewicz then scored on an offensive rebound, but Lani Morrison answered at the other end to give the Lady Bobcats what proved to be their final lead of the game, 38-37.

Riley Guy and Stacie Vonderheide both scored four points in the final two minutes, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 45-41 advantage heading into the final quarter.

“I think it’s interesting that we only shot 30-some percent from the floor and 51 percent from the line, but still found a way to score 61 points,” Rios noted. “It was a grind, that’s for sure. But we found a way to score and made some key shots.”

Heckert, who entered the game averagiong 21 points per game, finished with 20, while Wojcik scored 14 and Lani Morrison added 10 for the Lady Bobcats, who finished their season with a fine 24-7 record.

The Lady Bulldogs also had three players in double figures, with Fearday, Karolewicz and Guy combining to score 45 points. Fearday led the way with 17, while Karolewicz scored 15 and Guy added 13.

The Lady Bulldogs tied the school record for most wins in a single season while improving to 22-9. They were 9-8 at one time, but have now won 13 of their last 14 games.

“I knew what kind of team we had from the beginning,” Rios said. “We went through one stretch where we played some very good teams – CHBC, Effingham, Teutopolis and Arthur. We also played a 3A school (Galesburg) in the Mattoon Christmas Tournament. And in all but one of those games, we were ahead or tied fairly late in the game. But the girls just kept working and playing hard.

“I’m ecstatic as a coach, for these girls and for our program,” Rios added. “But we’re not done yet. We still have work to do.”

The Lady Bulldogs will now face Tri-County in the first round of the Tuscola Sectional. That game is scheduled