LeBlond holds on in fourth quarter to advance to Class 3 District 15 Championship

By Calvin Silvers

District tournaments for high school basketball continued on Wednesday, as classes 1-3 are competing. The girls’ teams kicked things off on Monday in the state of Missouri, meaning Wednesday was the semifinal rounds.

Class 3 District 15 Girls Tournament continued out in Gower, Missouri, with the three-seeded South Harrison Bulldogs taking on the two-seeded Bishop LeBlond Lady Eagles. This game would be settled in the final seconds, as LeBlond won 57-56 to advance to the championship against one-seeded Lathrop.

The contest was all Lady Eagles to start, as Kayla Beam got the early onslaught of scoring as she hit a 3-pointer on the left side of the key. Nice possession, it was Kyla Conard who was downlow and used a sky-hook type shot for the two points.

LeBlond would add two more baskets to open the game on a 10-0 run. The Bulldogs’ first points didn’t come until the 4:25 mark, as a back-door cut left Abigail Molloy open for the easy lay-up. South Harrison was able to tag on six more points, but fell in a 21-8 hole entering the second quarter.

When the second quarter began, it was deja-vu but with Rilyn Conard starting the quarter off with a 3-pointer. The Bulldogs were able to slowly cut into the deficit, which began with a Malloy steal and lay-up on the other end.

A 3-point shot in the corner from Hallee Chamberlin would send South Harrison into halftime with a more manageable game, down 27-23 after beginning the game down by 10 points.

The third quarter was a shootout, and it began as Kendall Cathcart was able to lose her defender and find a spot to pull up for a mid-range shot. Shortly after, it would be Beam again who hits from deep.

However, whatever LeBlond was able to do, South Harrison was able to match. Despite Rilyn Conard hitting four 3-pointers in the third quarter, the Bulldogs would use four of their own to tie the game at 48 heading into the final quarter.

Much like the third, it was back-and-forth until LeBlond was able to create just enough separation to hold onto the one point lead.

{span class=”production-element” data-production-element-type=”package”}{span class=”production-element” data-production-element-type=”package”}Rylin{/span} Conard finished with 23 points and five 3-pointers. Beam would finish with 12 points, all from the 3-point line.{/span}

The championship will be played at 6 p.m. on Friday at East Buchanan High School.