Columbus Christian won only three games during the regular season, but now, it is headed to the ISCAA girls basketball state final four.
The Crusaders avenged a pair of losses Friday and Saturday to capture the South Regional on their home floor. On Saturday night, they beat Bloomington Lighthouse 35-29 to advance to state for the first time since winning the title in 2015.
“I never would have imagined at the beginning of the season that we would have done this,” junior Grace Lorimor said. “I’m so proud of my team and our coaches. It’s such a great feeling.”
Lorimor, the only junior on a senior-less team, scored seven points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Columbus Christian (5-13), which will play in the state semifinals Saturday morning in Lafayette. The title game will be late Saturday afternoon.
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The Crusaders, who fell to Lighthouse 39-33 on Jan. 9, led for most of that game before the Lions rallied in the fourth quarter. This time, Columbus Christian built a 21-11 lead and held on.
“I think we played hard,” sophomore Ellie Ridder said. “We talked, and we played way better as a team that we did the last time we played them. We definitely earned this.”
Ridder grabbed 12 rebounds and was one of three Crusaders with eight points. Kayla Jones and Kaitlyn Conrad also finished with eight.
Ann Marie Gandy handed out four assists, and Jones collected four steals.
“God was there the whole time and helped us play good,” Jones said. “I feel like we played amazing as a team.”
Jones’ mother, Kay, is in her first year as coach at Columbus Christian. She is the fourth Crusaders coach in the past four years.
On Saturday, Columbus Christian overcame 32 turnovers and 7-of-22 shooting from the free-throw line by outrebounding Lighthouse (5-12) 49-33.
“We worked as a family,” Kay Jones said. “We worked together. We played hard. We stayed positive, and we did what we needed to do out there on the court.”
