Basketball

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Yes, the hosts fell to 0-2 in the St. Anthony Thanksgiving Tournament.

Yes, the Bulldogs need to take better care of the basketball and be more accurate from the free throw line.

And, yes, despite dropping a 53-50 decision to Breese Central Wednesday night, St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker was very pleased with his team’s overall performance.

“We showed a competitive spirit tonight,” Rincker said. “After getting a piece of humble pie Monday (a 50-36 loss to Robinson), we were much better tonight. We had a better rhythm and saw the ball go in the hoop, which makes a big difference.”

The Bulldogs led virtually all of the first 27 minutes of the contest, including by as many as 13 points in the second period. They were still up 42-37 entering the final eight minutes.

In the end, however, turnovers (21) and free throw shooting (7-for-15) proved too costly.

After Kyle Stewart made a short jumper with 5:29 to play in the game, SAHS held a slim 44-42 lead. But turnovers on three straight possessions turned the tide. Breese Central’s Cody Dickshot converted the first into a basket to tie the game and teammate Brady Moore then converted the next two into scores, include a three-point play that put the Cougars ahead for the first time, 49-44.

“Their pressure really sped us up,” Rincker noted. “We have to find ways to be more poised and be stronger with the basketball. Whether it’s dribbling, passing or just picking it up, we have to be stronger. Plus, we had too many mental lapses. Some of the times, our players were out of position. But we’ll get better.”

When Breese Central grabbed that five-point lead, it had all the momentum. But St. Anthony refused to quit. Adam Rudibaugh scored and then the Bulldogs forced a turnover and Craig Croy converted at the offensive end to trim the lead to just a single point, 49-48, with 2:34 to play.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

Aaron Rios believes all the pieces are starting to fall into place.

Rios is entering his third season as head coach of the St. Anthony Lady Bulldogs. They are coming off a 6-8 campaign a year ago and returning the nucleus of that team. This year’s squad figures to combine size, athleticism and talent.

“We’re starting to set the foundation of our culture and becoming who we want to be,” Rios said. “Our culture, energy and positivity has come a long way. I’m proud of how hard our girls have worked and I’m extremely excited about the season.”

And happy to see a return of normal conditions after a year of COVID restrictions.

“The biggest part of dealing with COVID was the unknown,” Rios noted. “Nobody knew when we were going to start. Then there was a delay. We didn’t find out until early January what we were going to do and then only seven days to prepare. There was just so little preparation time and we had a tough schedule last year.

“We didn’t start playing our best basketball until the last four or five games of the season,” the coach added. “We played teams like Effingham, Teutopolis and Sullivan, and performed well against some of those teams. We saw what it was going to take to be one of the best teams around. That really propelled us in the summer.”

Rios welcomed 13 girls into the program this year – the most he’s had so far.

Two seniors – Riley Guy and Grace Karolewicz – will be in the starting lineup.

Guy has been the team’s leading scorer that past two seasons. She averaged 17 points a game as a sophomore and 15 as a junior. She enters the season with 901 career points – just 99 shy of the coveted 1,000-point plateau. She was second team all-conference last year.

“She has a lot of tools around her this year, so she won’t have to score as much,” Rios said. “We know people will be keying on her, so we can exploit that. I’m so proud of how Riley has grown and matured as a young woman in our program.”

Karolewicz will be the point guard. She averaged 7 points and 4 assists a year ago.

“She’s the glue for us. She’s our floor general,” Rios noted. “She will definitely help lead us this year.”