St. Elizabeth girls down Capital City in final seconds

Players warm up Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, at the Region Credit Union Shootout in advance of the girls basketball contest between Capital City and St. Elizabeth.
Players warm up Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, at the Region Credit Union Shootout in advance of the girls basketball contest between Capital City and St. Elizabeth.

The St. Elizabeth Lady Hornets felt if they could hang around until the end, they may be able to steal a win Saturday night against the Capital City Lady Cavaliers.

St. Elizabeth led for a total of 2:08 in the 32-minute contest, and it was Tori Kemna's two free throws with :09.2 remaining that gave the Lady Hornets a 42-40 victory in the River Region Credit Union Shootout at Capital City High School.

"This was a character game for us," St. Elizabeth coach Stan Struemph said. "We struggled with our shooting and had some turnovers at times, but I think our team showed good character by hanging in there and finishing the game at the end."

The game was tied at 40 with :19.5 to play, and Capital City was in-bounding the ball under the St. Elizabeth basket. The Lady Hornets stuck with their full-court press, and Kemna was able to steal the ball from Natalie Allison just before the half-court line.

It was one of 10 Capital City turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"We have quick guards that can get into passing lanes," Struemph said of the press. "Tori just anticipated that pass really well, and that's what she does well. She's a play-maker."

Kemna took the ball and drove to the basket, drawing a foul against Allison as she attempted to give St. Elizabeth its first lead since the 5:36 mark of the third quarter.

The Lady Hornets had shot just 9-of-19 at the free-throw line in the game's first 31 minutes, but Kemna knocked down both foul shots to give St. Elizabeth a two-point lead.

"Especially late in the game, those were huge," Struemph said.

St. Elizabeth was able to force one last Capital City turnover with its press with one second left to seal the win.

"This will only make us better moving forward," Struemph said. "When you win close games like that, it just builds your confidence, and the next time you're in a close game after that, you just have that much more going for you."

Capital City coach Ashley Agee said Saturday was a new experience for her players, as it was their first time this season playing in a game that was decided in the final seconds.

"The scores haven't been close enough for us to play like that," Agee said. "I told them later on down the road, we'll start winning those ballgames.

"St. Elizabeth did a great job, they did everything that they needed to."

One of the things Agee pointed to was Capital City pulling up to shoot an open 3 with a two-point lead with about 1:30 to play, rather than holding the ball and using up more of the clock.

"We talked about why that wasn't a good 3," Agee said. "It's not that your feet weren't set, but in the game management side of it, it wasn't a good shot. We're learning."

Capital City held a 6-4 lead after one quarter and went ahead 11-4 in the opening minute of the second quarter after a 3 by Rylea Sanning.

Sanning shot 4-of-7 from 3 and finished with a game-high 15 points for the Lady Cavaliers.

"Rylea Sanning had a great game, just being more confident and pulling up (for shots)," Agee said.

Jada Anderson finished the scoring in the first half with a basket from the right block, giving Capital City a 19-18 lead at intermission.

Kemna hit a 3 to give St. Elizabeth an early lead in the second half, but Kambry Pistel and Sanning made back-to-back 3s, then Sanning banked in another 3 to put Capital City back in front 30-25.

The Lady Cavaliers led 33-29 after three quarters, but the Lady Hornets won the scoring battle 13-7 in the fourth quarter.

Kemna, who was named the game MVP, led St. Elizabeth with 11 points. Harley Engelmeyer finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Lady Hornets won despite shooting just 23.6 percent from the floor and 5-of-28 from 3.

"We've had some tough games starting out the season because we were quarantined for two weeks right before our first game," Struemph said. "We've played five games now, and once we played our first game, we've only had about three practices."

St. Elizabeth (2-3) opens Show-Me Conference play Tuesday at Russellville.

"Winning snowballs, and when you have success, it gives you more confidence moving into the next game," Struemph said.

Capital City (1-6) will play this week in the Linn Tournament, opening against St. Clair at 8 p.m. Monday.

"Experience and learning through these situations, only good things are going to come from it," Agee said.