In a game that had been nip-and-tuck for 30 minutes, down by two to Bishop Ireton and with just 1:37 left on the clock, the No. 2-seeded St. Anne’s-Belfield’s girls basketball team went to work.
First Ruby Adkins hit a huge 3-pointer to put the Saints up one, an opportunity created by a Maddie Rice rebound.
Khamare Steppe drew a charge on the other end.
Mo Johnson scored on a drive and finish.
Steppe pulled down a critical rebound.
A quick transition led to a crosscourt pass from Johnson to a waiting Olivia Wagner and left a Bishop Ireton defender sprawling and sliding into the Saints’ bench as Wagner buried the dagger with 29 seconds left.
Offense, defense, rebounding and passing with everyone on the floor making a contribution over the final 90 seconds? That’s how you close out a state semifinal game on a 9-0 run and pick up a 72-65 victory over Bishop Ireton.
“It is either win or go home at this point and Ruby stepped up with some good plays and that really gave us momentum,” said Wagner, who scored 14 points and had three steals. “And Khamare Steppe, she talked to me on the floor and said if you’re not hitting on offense, create something on defense. And we just worked off of Mo. We let Mo control it and she hit me in the corner when I needed it. We all just stepped up when we needed it.”
Johnson was electric in the first half, scoring 19 of her team-high 30 points before the break, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter. She finished with eight assists and eight rebounds
“I love watching her perform, she’ll make some for herself and others, she’ll create some crazy cool play,” Wagner said. “I think she’s special and she deserved 30.”
Despite that fast start, Bishop Ireton more than kept pace and led 21-18 at the end of the first quarter and 34-31 going into halftime. Electric freshman Nyla Brooks was a big reason why Bishop Ireton maintained that slight advantage with 20 points for the game but it was senior Lauren Mingo’s stickback and classmate Kennedy Clifton’s long jumper that put the Cardinals up 65-63.
STAB responded though, and reeled off that incredible 9-0 run to close out the game with some gritty effort sparking the spurt.
“I knew coming into the game there was going to be a lot of pressure and I knew that it was going to be a fight,” Johnson said. “You can’t teach effort and every day we’re fighting against each other, we want to make each other better and seeing Maddie and Khamare, Khamare taking that big charge and Maddie going for every loose ball it really helps us come together as a team.”
Adkins finished with 11 on the night, hitting three 3-pointers, and Rice notched 10, with six of that 10 coming in the fourth quarter. Steppe chipped in seven points and seven boards on the night. The Saints were efficient too, shooting 53 percent as a team on the night.
Now the Saints will face 14-time defending champion Paul VI Saturday at 2 p.m. in the state championship game.
