When you’re the defending champion, it’s always going to be hard to reach the heights of a season ago.
Hastings St. Cecilia knew that it would take additional effort to go back-to-back, and after surviving tests from No. 4 Superior and No. 2 Crofton in the first two rounds of the state tournament, the No. 3 Hawkettes found themselves down 21-15 at halftime to No. 8 Ponca.
Hastings St. Cecilia regrouped in the locker room and outscored Ponca by 10 points in the second half as it claimed its second straight C-2 title with a 41-37 win.
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“We just talked about having to win those first two minutes when we came out, we did that and got the next two and it just snowballed from there,†Hastings St. Cecilia head coach Greg Berndt said.
Hastings St. Cecilia’s began the game with a full-court press featuring three players hanging around midcourt, but Ponca managed to break the press for some easy buckets. Ashlyn Kingsbury hit an open three-pointer on one of those breaks and Ponca charged out on an 11-2 run that gave it a 17-8 lead.
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Kaci Day hit a three-pointer to extend Ponca’s lead to 10 points, but Hastings St. Cecilia’s Katherine Hamburger responded with a three-pointer of her own, and Ponca took a 21-15 lead into halftime.
It was an efficient first half from Ponca, which shot 9-for-18 from the floor as Kingsbury and Day combined to score 18 of its 21 first-half points. Meanwhile, Hastings St. Cecilia struggled offensively, shooting 5-for-17 (29%) as its two leading scorers entering the contest, Bailey Kissinger and Tori Thomas, combined for four points in the first half.
“I was thinking that we actually had to do a little better of a job running our offense, we hit some shots that normally we don’t hit, so that concerned me,†Ponca head coach Bob Hayes said.
A big third quarter swung the game in Hastings St. Cecilia’s favor. The Hawkettes outscored Ponca 15-6 as Thomas finally got going. She scored Hastings St. Cecilia’s first six points of the half, and the Hawkettes locked down defensively.
“I feel like our defense really gets our offense going. When we play good defense, it brings the energy, so it leads to offense,†Bailey Kissinger said.
Ponca shot 31.5% from the floor in the second half and turned the ball over seven times, allowing Hastings St. Cecilia to take a 30-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Hawkettes got a big contribution from Hamburger, who led the team with 13 points.
Ponca made it close down the stretch. Kingsbury made a pair of three-pointers and finished with 15 points, while Day scored a game-high 17. However, Hastings St. Cecilia’s lead held strong as Bailey Kissinger made her free throws down the stretch — she scored nine of her 11 points from the line — and Hastings St. Cecilia closed it out for its repeat title.