Lady Warriors Take 2nd
Valle Catholic’s Ella Bertram (15), Ade Weiler Sam Loida (20)swarm New Haven’s Aubri Meyer during Saturday district finals. (PHOTO BY MICHAEL BOYD JR./Herald staff)
By michael boyd jr.
mboydjr@stegenherald.com
CRYSTAL CITY — Valle Catholic’s bid for a district basketball championship fell short Saturday evening, thus seeing its season close after falling 44-26 to top-seeded New Haven at Crystal City High’s Arvel B. Popp Gymnasium.
Turnovers, unfortunately, plagued the second-seeded Warriors (17-9) in the second half and they could not recover in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 4 girl’s championship game.
No stranger to one another, it was the third time in 15 years that the Shamrocks (15-10) defeated Valle for the district title.
This game was supposed to be played last Thursday, but area’s second major snowstorm pushed it to Saturday.
After a thrilling overtime semifinal victory last Tuesday, the Warriors, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped, gave the state-powerhouse Shamrocks a fit during the first half .
Then New Haven took over. A 7-0 run that began at the end of the first half and carried over to the third quarter provided just enough cushion for the Shamrocks, who have won three of their last four games, to eventually pull away.
Both teams were cold from the floor early on as neither team had scored just two minutes into the game. New Haven led 9-6 after one quarter and 13-11 at halftime.
The second half was a different story as Valle trailed 29-15 heading into the final quarter. Both teams committed just 27 total fouls and combined for just 15 free throws.
Senior Ella Bertram led Valle with 12 points, while senior Sam Loida added seven points with two 3-pointers. Senior Mia Weiler was held to just three points with her 3-pointer.
New Haven
