Russell Conwell/Student Correspondent
Darren Kinnard
Section618.com
NASHVILLE — The Carterville Lady Lions and the Breese Mater Dei Lady Knights grabbed semifinal wins at the Nashville Girls 2A Sectional Tuesday night, setting up a rematch of the Nashville 2A Volleyball Supersectional back in early November.
Carterville Lady Lions vs Nashville Hornettes
It was a game between two conference rivals who had split their first two meetings. The Lady Lions won the third matchup thanks to Alecia Doyle, who scored a team high 19 points.
To start the first quarter it was pretty defensive, with Carterville going without a field goal till 3:30 left in the first. The defensive efforts of the Hornettes led them to have a 9-5 lead after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, Nashville tried to carry over the defensive effort. The Hornettes didn’t allow the Lady Lions to score until Kasha Ward started an 8-0 run to finish the quarter. Carterville led 13-10 at the half.
The Lady Lions’ run continued in the third quarter, with Carterville opening the second half scoring the first seven points. Carterville wouldn’t score any more after the run, but the Lady Lions still held a 20-16 lead going into the final quarter of play.
After the Hornettes closed within 25-22 in the fourth, the Lady Lions scored 10 out of the final 13 points in the game to win 35-25 advancing to Thursday night’s sectional final.
Nashville finished the season with a record of 22-9. The Hornettes will lose four of their starters to graduation.
Benton Rangerettes vs Breese Mater Dei Lady Knights
The Rangerettes were knocking on the doorstep of the sectional championship for the first time in 18 years. To complete this task, they had to go through Breese Mater Dei, but the Lady Knights were just too much, getting a 43-30 win.
Malia Webb of Benton kept the Rangerettes in the game by scoring eight out of team’s 11 points in the first. The game was tied after one quarter.
It wouldn’t stay tied long, as the Lady Knights went on a 14-2 run. Mater Dei only allowed Benton to score six points in the quarter. The Lady Knights led 29-17 at the half.
Both offenses went cold in the third quarter as the teams combined for a total of six points in the quarter. Mater Dei led 33-19 after three.
Once it transitioned to the fourth the Rangerettes started to step it up on offense by scoring 11 points in the quarter, but it was too little, too late as Mater Dei’s defensive performance earlier in the game led to the 13-point win.
The Rangerettes ended their season with a record of 24-6. They’ll be trying to capitalize off this season, as they will return all but two seniors on the roster..
The Lady Knights advance to play Carterville in the sectional championship. That game was originally scheduled for 7:00 Thursday night, but was pushed back to Friday night due to the weather.