Sarah Lorimor
Columbus Christian’s late-season girls basketball schedule hasn’t had a great deal of variety.
After playing Christian Academy of Madison twice last week, the Crusaders found themselves matched up against the Defenders once again Friday night when they opened they Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional on their home floor.
Just as it had in the previous two meetings, Columbus Christian came away victorious. But this time, the margin was a little closer, with the Crusaders prevailing 45-24.
“They switched a bunch of stuff up on us, and you can tell they’ve gotten a lot better in the last couple weeks,” Columbus Christian coach Chris Noblitt said. “They adjusted to what we did and definitely got better.”
The Crusaders (18-12), who beat Christian Academy 50-28 and 51-26 last week, jumped out to a 13-2 lead in Friday’s meeting. The Defenders were within 24-16 midway through the third quarter when Columbus Christian used a 14-0 run to put it away.
“I thought the first time we played them, we came out a little slow,” Noblitt said. “The second time, I thought we did real well. Tonight, I thought our second half was better. The first half, I think we were just making some decisions that we shouldn’t have made and that we know better about. But the second half, especially that fourth quarter, we picked it up a little bit and started hitting some layups. We were struggling just hitting shots this game, so we were fortunate enough to come out with the win.”
Sarah Lorimor scored 20 points to lead the Crusaders, who had three players with double-digit rebounds. Mariah Holt grabbed 12 rebounds, while Lorimor had 11 and Madi Blair added 10 to lead Columbus Christian to a 55-43 advantage on the boards.
“We played good,” Lorimor said. “We definitely could have played better. Our passes were a little slower than they were the past few games, and we definitely could have shot better. But for the most part, I think we played pretty well.”
The Crusaders advance to Monday’s regional final, where they will host Martinsville Tabernacle Christian (15-1). The winner advances to the March 5 state final four, also at Columbus Christian.
The Crusaders and Tabernacle have not met this season.
“They’re a good team, really good coaching staff,” Noblitt said. “If we do what we can do, we can come out on top. But they’re going to be a struggle. They’re going to be a challenge. I think if we go in and do what we can do, we definitely have a shot.”
