By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
When Nancy Ruholl was in the third grade, her basketball coach knew she had a gift.
She’s now a junior in high school and her varsity coach still feels the same way.
“She’s always been a true scorer,” said Aaron Rios, who has had the privilege of coaching Ruholl as both a grade school and high school player. “She’s always been able to shoot, but now she can put it on the floor and get to the basket. She has a true gift.”
That gift was on display Monday night.
That talented sharpshooter poured in 28 points to lead the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs to their 11straight victory, a dominating 61-31 win at home over Tuscola.
And in the process, Ruholl not only became the No. 1 scorer in Lady Bulldogs basketball, she also crept much closer to the school’s all-time scoring record, set by Mike Wente, in 1970.
A 14-0 run in the first quarter gave St. Anthony a lead it continued to build on throughout the game. It was during that scoring spree that Ruholl set the record.
Her three-point play at the 1:52 mark not only put the Lady Bulldogs ahead by double digits, 19-7, it gave her 1,637 career points, breaking the old mark of 1,634, set by Lucy Fearday just two years ago.
Nancy Ruholl and Addie Lauritzen combined to score 41 points Saturday, leading the state’s top-ranked St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs to a lopsided 70-18 win at home over Flora.
Ruholl knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight points, while Lauritzen added seven more, as the hosts raced to a 21-6 lead after the opening eight minutes. By halftime, the lead had expanded to 31 points, 42-11. It was 63-14 heading into the final period, so the continuously running clock was implemented.
Ruholl, just a junior, finished with 24 points. She has now scored 1,627 career points and is only seven points away from breaking Lucy Fearday’s record for most points scored by a girl during her career. Fearday finished with 1,634.
Ruholl is also just 46 points away from the school’s all-time scoring record. That belongs to Mike Wente, who amassed 1,663 total points.
It was the 10th straight victory for St. Anthony, which improved to 23-4 overall.
The Lady Bulldogs will finish the regular season with two home games – Monday against a tough Tuscola team; and Thursday against a talented Newton squad.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
November 30 feels like a long time ago.
On that date – the final night of the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament – the St. Anthony Bulldogs dropped a 46-43 decision to Breese Central and stood at 2-2 after the first week of the basketball season.
Now fast forward to Tuesday night.
Over that 66-day span, the Bulldogs have faced 20 more opponents, but have not experienced “the agony of defeat” again, while ascending to No. 2 in the state’s Class 1A rankings.
Casey-Westfield became the latest victim, as St. Anthony kept its winning streak alive by posting a 60-52 victory over a tough and talented Warriors team at The Enlow Center.
“This was a fantastic game,” SAHS coach Cody Rincker said. “We were expecting every bit of what we got. This was a hard-fought game. They have a very good team and they’ve got a starter (Ryan Richards) out that is still trying to come back from an injury.”
Late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing 31-25. Leighton Jones came off the bench to knock down a pair of threes, Hayden Parcel scored on back-to-back possessions and Jackson High turned in a three-point play to cap a 13-0 run.
But over the final 1:39, the hosts rattled off the final seven points of the half. Brock Fearday hit a jumper, Ryan Schmidt connected on a long three and Keenan Griffith converted a turnover into a pair of free throws with just two seconds left to give the Bulldogs a slim 32-31 edge at intermission.
By Steve Raymond
ET Sports Report
A tight, down-to-the-wire game was expected.
And why not?
Just 12 days earlier, the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs and Brownstown/St. Elmo Lady Bombers squared off in the NTC Tournament championship game, which was decided by just five points, with the Lady Bulldogs claiming the victory.
Thursday night’s game was another “championship” – a winner-take-all contest. It was the final game of the NTC regular season and both squads entered 7-0.
But this game was on the Lady Bombers’ home floor in Brownstown. And Presley Williams, a BSE starter that was injured and didn’t play in the tournament final, was back.
Virtually everybody expected a battle to the end.
Somehow, the Lady Bulldogs didn’t get that memo. And it was clear from the opening tip they had something different in mind.
Surprisingly, the game was a rout. Midway through the fourth period, the mercy clock even kicked in.
And when that final horn sounded, the Lady Bulldogs owned a lopsided 67-35 victory and the National Trail Conference championship.
“To be able to battle through the conference tournament and this league takes a lot. It’s never easy,” St. Anthony coach Aaron Rios said following the contest. “This program has come a long way from when we first started. This means a lot.”
The St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs outscored North Clay 34-9 in the middle two quarters Monday night, en route to a 63-38 National Trail Conference road victory.
That sets up a showdown between St. Anthony and Brownstown/St. Elmo for the conference championship. Those two teams are both 7-0 in the league and will square off Thursday night at Brownstown High School.
SAHS held a slim 20-19 edge after the first eight minutes. But the Lady Bulldogs went on a 16-3 scoring surge in the second period to increase their lead to 36-22 at halftime. An 18-6 run in the third quarter expanded the margin to 32 points, 54-22.
St. Anthony was led in scoring by Ady Rios and Nancy Ruholl, who pumped in 18 and 15 points respectively. They also led the team in rebounding, with both pulling down seven.
The Lady Bulldogs have now won eight games in a row and improved to 21-4 overall.
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