Friday evening the Alma Cardinals made the lengthy drive to McCool Junction to battle in the D1-6 District Final. This is the fourth time in five years the Cardinals have made it to a district final, and they were looking to make history as Alma has never made it to state.
McCool Junction came into the matchup as the 6 seed, and Alma the 11 seed. The Cardinals fought hard but couldn’t snag the victory, falling to McCool Junction, 69-62.
In the first quarter, McCool Junction took a 5-0 lead right off the bat. Alma though, countered with an 11-4 run to take a lead. The Mustangs though, closed out the quarter with a one-point lead, 14-13 going into the second period.
The second quarter was a shot-making clinic from both teams. McCool Junction hit three, three-pointers and Alma had six made field goals to hang with the Mustangs. McCool Junction led 31-26 at halftime.
In the third quarter, The Cardinals continued to battle, staying close. Every time it looked like the Mustangs were going to pull away, Alma kept the score tight.
We went to the final quarter with McCool Junction still in control, 45-41. The Cardinals came out with a bang in the fourth quarter as Riley Scott hit a three-pointer, and was fouled. She hit the free throw and it was tied at 45-45.
How did McCool Junction counter? A huge three-pointer of their own from Briann Stutzman. One of her six three-pointers. The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair until McCool Junction went on a little run and got some big stops to close out the win.
For McCool Junction, prolific scorer McKenna Yates had 29 points including four three-pointers. Stuzman had 20 points and Claire Brugger had 14 points.
For Alma, Riley Scott had 18 points and Addison Siebels and Tierston Moore had 16 points in the game.
Alma ends the season at 20-5. McCool Junction is 20-3 and will play in the Class D1 Girls State Basketball Tournament which runs from Wednesday, February 28th to Saturday, March 2nd.
Other RPAC schools competed in district finals too.
D1-3: Southern Valley beat Amherst 54-33
D1-8: MHC falls to Elgin Public/Pope John 51-44
D2-2: DCS falls to Fall City Sacred Heart 60-41
D2-6: Paxton defeats Leyton 77-59
Stay tuned for more information across social media and our other platforms to see where, when, and who the RPAC Schools will be competing with at state.