After rolling to an impressive win Friday on opening night, the Boone Central/Newman Grove Cardinals needed an extra period to claim victory number two Saturday.
After all was said and done, the Lady Cardinals, ranked #8 in the Lincoln Journal-Star Class C1 Preseason Top 10, owned a 2-0 record and their first Mid-State Conference victory.
Not a bad start.
The conference win came Friday, as BC/NG ran past visiting Hartington Cedar Catholic 63-41.
Following a bit of a slow start, the Cardinals turned up the heat with thier full-court pressure and blitzed the Trojans 23-5 in quarter two to take a 38-18 halftime lead.
“I was very pleased with our offensive aggressiveness. We had many players contribute in the scoring column,” said BC/NG Coach Mike Kennedy. “We showed great intensity and urgency in our full-court press and that helped turn the momentum in our favor late in the first quarter.
“It was a very good first step for our team to win this game.”
Saturday’s victory did not come as easily, but was impressive for its clutch finish.
Senior Jade Gottier poured in a school-record 33 points and the Cardinals needed just about every one of them to prevail 68-63 in overtime at Lakeview.
“This was a real roller-coaster ride,” Kennedy commented. “We went through spurts where we played well, defended well, scored the ball. Then we went through periods where we struggled to get a rebound and fouled too much.
“I am pleased with the resiliency we showed in OT to come back and get the win after they tied the game at the buzzer.
“Free throws were a huge plus for us, as we made 27-of-36 and needed every one.”
Further details in print & Online editions of Albion News.
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