Lady Cardinals soar over Lady Roadrunners

By JASON VIOX\Daily Journal Sports Writer

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area Lady Cardinals wanted to celebrate homecoming on Saturday with a win over the State Fair Lady Roadrunners. Although the Lady Cardinals had more than their fair share of injuries and setbacks over the season, they got what they desired. Mineral Area defeated State Fair by the score of 62-55.

The contest started off extremely slow as Mineral Area's Alycea Wallace sank a pair of free throws at the 18:04 mark. Four minutes later, Wallace drained the first field goal of the game. State Fair's Lindsey Slagel narrowed the gap with a three-pointer.

After a series of four matched buckets, the game was tied 12-12. The Lady Roadrunners took the lead by the score of 15-13, but the Lady Cardinals were not willing to go down that easily. Mineral Area went on a 9-3 scoring run for a 22-18 lead.

Christine Wade narrowed the lead with a field goal, but Mineral Area's Anna Brisso knocked down a pair of free throws while Sarah Dietiker chipped in a triple to extend their lead. The first half came to a close as the Lady Cardinals held a five-point advantage by the score 26-21.

Mineral Area's lead didn't last long as State Fair went on an 8-2 scoring drive which included a three by Brittany Peters to kick off the second half. The Lady Cardinals strongly reacted with a 14-4 scoring attack as the run included a pair of three-pointers by Wallace. Peters ended the run with a jump shot, but Mineral Area led 42-35.

The Lady Cardinals kept their momentum rolling with a 7-1 run for a 49-36 game. The two teams traded 10 points before State Fair's next run. The Lady Roadrunners scored five straight points for a 59-53 contest. Wallace made a free throw while Brisso chipped in two to give Mineral Area a little more breathing room. Brandy Purnell countered with a jump shot, but that was as close State Fair got.

Both squads played extremely physical, which brought a lot of the action to the free-throw line. The Lady Cardinals had a pretty good showing on the charity stripe, as they made 24 out of 31 attempts. The Lady Roadrunners struggled a little bit as they were 15-28 on the line.

The Lady Cardinals, now 14-14, will host Crowder on Tuesday.

Mineral Area - 26 36 - 62

State Fair - 21 34 - 55

SCORING:

Mineral Area - R Sane 16, A Wallace 14, E Anderson 14, A Brisso 8, S Dietiker 6, E Hankins 2, M Pollard 2

3-Pointers - E Anderson 2, R Sane 1, S Dietiker 1

State Fair - B Purnell 15, B Petters 13, S Farris 9, L Slagel 8, A Sutcliff 4, M Gaines 3, C Wade 2, A Smith 1

3-Pointers - B Petters 2, L Slagel 2