Prior to 2014, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs had never won a regional tournament.
Now, 12 years later, they find themselves in the winner’s circle almost every year.
For the 9th time in those 12 years – and now four years in a row – the Lady Bulldogs will be making a trip to the sectional.
They made that happen Thursday night with a wire-to-wire 55-30 victory over Altamont in the championship game of the Class 1A Neoga Regional.
They now advance to the Arcola Sectional, where they will face Arcola. The Lady Purple Raiders advanced by defeating Tuscola, 58-57, in the championship game of the Tuscola Regional. The St. Anthony-Arcola contest is set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
They will be joined by Decatur St. Teresa and Catlin (Salt Fork), who won the St. Teresa and Georgetown regionals respectively. Those two squads will play at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs got off to a fast start against Altamont. Nancy Ruholl pumped in 11 points, as SAHS raced to a 15-3 lead. All three of the Lady Indians points were from free throws.
St. Anthony continued to stretch the lead. At halftime, the margin was 16 points, 29-13. And heading into the final eight minutes, the Lady Bulldogs were comfortably on top, 44-19.
Kylee Lurkins scored nine points for the Lady Indians, who ended their season at 13-19.
Ruholl finished with a game-high 20 points. Ady Rios scored eight and Addi Lauritzen and Lilly Gannaway both added six. Lauritzen also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Lady Bulldogs, the state’s top-ranked Class 1A team, improved to 27-4.
