Nothing in baseball can match an ace pitcher, not even the weight of history.
GARRETT – Struggling from the field, the Concordia girls basketball team went to a place where the shots were falling – the free-throw line.
Despite the shooting woes, the Cadets pulled out a 43-35 overtime win over Leo on Saturday in the championship game of the Garrett Sectional.
“Our coaches tell us that great players and great shooters always fight through all the droughts and the misses and we need to keep shooting, and eventually the shots will fall,” Concordia senior Annalissa Kammeyer said.
Concordia outscored Leo 11-3 in overtime by hitting 11 of 12 from the free-throw line. For the game, the Cadets made 18 of 24 from the line.
“In a low-scoring game, it always helps,” Concordia coach Dave Miller said of free throws.
The Cadets made only 10 of 41 (24 percent) from the field.
“It was very difficult, and we didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Miller said. “Credit Leo for a lot of that. When you miss perimeter shots, it gets a little tighter and a little tougher to make the next one.”
Class 3A No. 7 Concordia (17-5) won its third straight sectional title, while Leo finished 19-5.
“For us, especially the seniors, it just means a great deal to come back and win the sectional title,” Kammeyer said. “And keep playing; we are not done yet.”
Concordia will face Hamilton Heights in a semifinal game at noon next Saturday at the Bellmont Regional.
The Lions had knocked off No. 4 Angola 45-42 in the sectional semifinals.
“I am extremely proud of the effort they gave; I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Leo coach Carrie Shappell said. “We had two great runs in the ACAC tournament and (in the sectional). They did everything we have ever asked of them.”
Lauren Marinko’s three-pointer with seven seconds left tied the game at 32, sending it into overtime.
“It was all for my team,” Marinko said of the shot. “I obviously wasn’t shooting that well in the game. I was just thinking too much. The coaches just said ‘up and in,’ and that’s what I did on that shot, and it went in.”
Marinko and Kammeyer each had 16 points for Concordia.
The shooting was so bad for Concordia that the Cadets came within 15 seconds of going scoreless in the second quarter when Kammeyer’s three-pointer tied the score at 12 going into halftime.
The Cadets were 3 of 20 (15 percent) from the field in the first half, including 1 of 10 (10 percent) in the second.
Hannah Field led the Lions with nine points, while Kayla Woodward added eight.
Concordia stayed in the game by holding Leo to 12 of 39 (31 percent) shooting.
Leo led 28-20 early in the fourth before Concordia finished regulation on a 12-4 run.
“We missed chances down the stretch,” Shappell said.
Concordia led 9-4 midway through the first when both teams went cold. Leo finally broke through midway through the second and ran off eight straight points to lead 12-9.
