The Lady Riders jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but St. Anthony responded with an 8-0 run. Addie Nuxoll made two free throws, Ady Rios had a bucket and Nancy Ruholl scored four points, including a pair of foul shots that gave the Lady Bulldogs a 10-7 lead at the 4:32 mark.

St. Anthony didn’t trail again.

Ruholl and Nuxoll both scored toward the end of the first period to stake SAHS to a 16-12 lead.

Neither team shot well in the second quarter, combing to make just 4-of-20 attempts. But Ruholl knocked down a three and scored five points, helping St. Anthony claim a 23-17 edge at intermission.

“For us to go down five early and battle back on their home floor was a good sign,” said St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios. “We ran some great offensive sets tonight and got people open with the shots we wanted. We just couldn’t knock them down.”

But the zone press caused Arcola problems throughout the game. The Lady Riders turned the ball over 11 times in the opening period and had 15 miscues at halftime.

“In watching film, we didn’t think they were a good ballhandling team,” Rios explained. “We thought our defense could cause problems. We just didn’t make enough shots to take advantage of the turnovers we got.”

The Lady Bulldogs threatened to pull away in the third quarter. After Arcola’s Kacie Sisk hit a jumper to open the second half, St. Anthony went on another 8-0 run. Nuxoll hit a short jumper, Addie Lauritzen and Lilly Gannaway both converted turnovers into scores and Rios hit another shot, and the margin expanded to double digits, 31-19 at the 5:07 mark.

It was still an 11-point spread when the Lady Riders made a final surge. Sisk made a jumper at the end of the third period and then hit two more, including a three-pointer. That got Arcola to within four points, 34-30, just 74 seconds into the final quarter.

Ruholl responded with a shot from long range and Rios converted yet another turnover into a pair of free throws that made it a nine-point cushion. The Lady Riders scored only four points in the final four minutes and two baskets by Gannaway in the final minute secured the win and a berth in the sectional final for St. Anthony.

“I thought we stayed composed down the stretch,” Rios noted. “We’re a good, disciplined basketball team. No matter how far we continue to go, we’ll need to be disciplined. They’re all going to be tough from here on out.”

Sisk, the all-time leading scorer for Arcola girls basketball, finished with a game-high 22 points for the Lady Riders, who ended their season at 21-10. They shot 36 percent from the floor, making 13-of-36 attempts. They were 4-for-15 from three-point range and 4-for-10 at the foul line.

Ruholl scored 19 points and Nuxoll had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Bulldogs made 16-of-53 shots, a 30 percent clip. They were 3-for-12 from long range and 12-for-18 at the foul line. The turnovers the defense created and the rebounding advantage were keys to the win.

“Our girls are going to compete every night,” Rios said. “They’re going to battle at both ends of the floor and fight on every possession. Rebounding has helped us all year and when our defense plays like it did tonight, we can make it difficult on teams.”

Fouls – sometimes unnecessary ones – is a concern, however.

“Everyday in practice, we simulate how to guard without fouling,” Rios noted. “We have got to clean that up before Thursday night.”

The Lady Bulldogs, the state’s top-ranked Class 1A team, improved to 28-4. They will now face a St. Teresa team that defeated Catlin (Salt Fork), 38-32, to reach the sectional championship. St. Teresa will enter with a 10-game winning streak and a 20-7 record.

“We know we’ll be playing a tough team,” Rios admitted. “We know it’s going to be a battle and won’t be easy. We’ll play good defense and, hopefully, shoot better. We’ll be ready to play.”