SC/W beats Jaguars for state tourney berth

The girls’ basketball Region 5B championship game looked all but over in the third quarter.

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket led the Corsica/Stickney 36-21 with 2:50 left in the third quarter but trailed late in the fourth quarter.

The Blackhawks regained the lead and won 45-40 to earn a trip to the Class B state tournament next weekend in Huron.

“We’re definitely excited,” Blackhawks head coach Tim McCain said. “Having that big lead, then giving it away kind of put a scare in (the team), but it’s good that we came through with the win.”

The 15-point lead in the third quarter was the biggest of the night, but Corsica/Stickney had a 16-point run that gave the Jaguars the lead at 37-36. The only other lead the Jaguars had was 2-0 to start the game.

“I’m sure the nerves got to us,” McCain said. “Our kids kept battling. We stuck it out and kept playing hard.”

After the game Corsica/Stickney coach Lorisa Broughton had the team stay on the floor to watch the Blackhawks receive their medals.

“It was a hard-fought battle, and you want the best of whatever team comes out of your region,” Broughton said. “We wanted to show them that we respect them.”

During the Jaguars’ 16-point run, Hope Menning hit three 3-point shots for momentum.

“Menning hit some key shots that got them back into the game,” McCain said. “She hit some tough shots. You’ve got to give her some credit.”

The Blackhawks put up the next five points before another Menning 3-pointer cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 41-40.

Two made free-throws from Rachel Selland put Sanborn Central/Woonsocket back up three with 32.7 seconds remaining.

With less than 20 seconds to play, the Jaguars had the ball trailing by three points.

“We knew the ball was probably going to Menning,” McCain said. “We were trying to make sure we got somebody out there (to guard Menning).”

Corsica/Stickney got the ball to Menning but a couple SC/W defenders were guarding her. She took the contested shot, which came up short.

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket junior Candace Page-Marten came down with the rebound and was fouled. With 6.1 seconds left, she was going to the foul line for a one-and-one, she had not scored up to that point.

“All I could hear was Mr. McCain (saying), ‘Have confidence. It’ll go in,’ ” she said. “(I was thinking) please go in. I really want to go to state.”

Page-Marten said the feeling was amazing when the first shot went through the net.

She tacked on the second to make the score 45-40, the final margin.

Selland led the Blackhawks in scoring with 12 points, while Marissa Weber tacked on 11.

Menning led the Jaguars with 12 points and Emily Van Roekel finished with nine. Van Roekel also recorded five steals.

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket outrebounded Corsica/Stickney 20-16 in the win.

Corsica/Stickney ended its season at 13-9, while Sanborn Central/Woonsocket will take its 21-2 record to the state tournament.

“They had a lot of heart and they were out there playing hard,” Broughton said of her team.

SC/W 14 26 36 45

C/S 11 19 26 40

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