DIAMOND, Mo. — Second-seeded McAuley Catholic overcame an early deficit and rode a strong second half to a 54-47 victory over sixth-seeded College Heights Christian on Wednesday night in a semifinal contest of the Gem City Classic at Diamond High School.
With the win, the Warriors (3-0) will meet top-seeded Diamond in the championship game at 4 on Saturday.
“I’m proud of the way my girls battled tonight,” McAuley coach Mike Howard told SoMo Sports. “Playing our rival this early in the season is very difficult for several reasons. We play each other so much that we know exactly what the other team is going to do. They are very well-coached and John (Blankenship) always has his team ready to play us. They are a great bunch of girls and they worked their butts off tonight, so I applaud their efforts. I’m so proud of my girls though for overcoming adversity early on in the game and for the way they stepped up in the second half.”
This one was close all the way.
College Heights led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter and the Cougars were clinging to a 21-19 lead at the break.
But McAuley outscored CHC 14-9 in the third period to go up 33-30. The Warriors finished strong, outscoring the Cougars 21-17 in the final frame.
Sophomore guard Kloee Williamson poured in a career-high 25 points to lead McAuley.
Williamson made nine field goals, with two 3-pointers, to go along with five free throws. She scored 18 points in the second half, with 10 in the fourth period.
Also for the Warriors, Kayleigh Teeter scored 11 points, Avery Eminger had 10 and Kennedy DeRuy chipped in six. Eminger scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
“We had several role players step up when they focused on taking away Kennedy and Kayleigh,” Howard said. “Kloee knocked down some big shots in the right moments and Avery Eminger made some key baskets and secured some timely rebounds down the stretch.”
Three players scored in double figures for College Heights (1-2). Junior guard Jayli Johnson led the way with 14 points, while freshman Libby Fanning had 11 and junior Addison Lawrence added 10.
College Heights will play East Newton for third place at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
DIAMOND 42, EAST NEWTON 38
In another close semifinal, Diamond got past East Newton 42-38.
Host Diamond advanced to the championship game, while fourth-seeded East Newton will play CHC for third place.
Makenna Braiser scored nine points for East Newton, while Kylee Cole added eight and Josie Guinn had seven.
