The Columbus Christian girls basketball team poses with the Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional trophy after Saturday’s win against I-Town Prep at Columbus Christian. Pictured, from left, are assistant coach Jon Blair, Belle Blair, manager Abby Dora, Jaren Shuler, Emma Murray, Olivia Wise, Emma Rice, Kaeli Clawson, Macimae Brown, manager Mara Nickerson, Katie Bond and head coach Matt Bond.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Although Columbus Christian had handily beaten I-Town Prep twice during the regular season, Crusaders coach Matt Bond knew his team couldn’t overlook their opponent when they met again Saturday in the Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional final.
I-Town Prep kept it close for most of the first quarter, but Columbus Christian took control and went on to post a 62-31 girls basketball victory to advance to the ICSAA state tournament on their home floor.
“The old adage, ‘It’s hard to beat a team three times,’ we knew it was going to be a challenge,” Bond said. “We knew they were going to give us everything they had, just like (Friday) night with (Christian Academy of) Madison. Double-zero (point guard J’mia Green) is a physical player, and she carries that team and we knew we had our hands full with her. We just had to take care of the basketball on offense and make sure we knew where she was at all times. For the most part, I felt like we did a pretty good job.”
Green scored 23 points for I-Town Prep, but the Crusaders (19-3) countered with a pair of big games from their senior post players. Olivia Wise had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Emma Murray added 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead Columbus Christian.
“Just seeing our team grow so well, reading where people are moving, and with passes, we’ve just grown together as a team,” Wise said.
“We can always play better,” Murray added. “There’s always room for improvement, but I think recently, we’ve been reading cuts more. At the beginning of the season, we definitely did not do that good. But now, we have a little bit more chemistry, and we know what each other is going to do. We really worked on moving the ball, working on the cuts and reading them.”
The Columbus Christian girls basketball team celebrates with the Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional trophy after Saturday’s win against I-Town Prep at Columbus Christian.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
The Crusaders trailed 7-6 late in the first quarter when they went on an 18-1 run to take a 23-7 lead midway through the second. They built the lead to 34-12 at halftime and cruised in the second half.
“I think it’s encouraging and boosting confidence for us when we’re hitting shots, and to hit some shots at the beginning, it just gave us confidence that, ‘Yeah, we’ve got this,’ which always bodes well for the rest of the game.”
Katie Bond added nine points for Columbus Christian, which outrebounded I-Town Prep 47-29.
The regional title is the second in the past three years for the Crusaders, who fell to I-Town Prep in last year’s regional final.
“It is sad this is our last time that we get to experience winning regional,” Murray said. “It’s a great accomplishment. We’ve grown so much over the years. It’s a great comeback from last year when we lost against I-Town. We’ve only gotten better.”
Columbus Christian girls basketball coach Matt Bond cuts a piece of the net after winning the Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association South Regional trophy Saturday at Columbus Christian.
Ted Schultz | The Republic
Columbus Christian will host the boys and girls state finals next weekend. The boys semifinals will be Friday night, and the Crusader girls will play Clinton Christian in the semifinals at 10:30 a.m. March 7. The girls final is at 5 p.m. March 7, with the boys final to follow at around 7 p.m.
“I told them in the locker room, this is only a stairstep to where we want to go,” Matt Bond said. “Where we want to go is at the end of the day next Saturday doing the same thing we did tonight,” Bond said. “But we have to take one step at a time. We can’t start jumping steps of we’re going to fall. We have to stay focused and just go through the whole process again.”
Columbus Christian 62, I-Town Prep 31
Columbus Christian;13;21;7;21;—;62
I-Town Prep;7;5;5;14;—;31
Columbus Christian: Kaeli Clawson 2 0-0 4, Katie Bond 4 0-0 9, Olivia Wise 8 7-10 23, Macimae Brown 0 0-0 0, Emma Rice 1 0-0 2, Jaryn Shuler 1 0-0 2, Belle Blair 0 0-2 0, Emma Murray 8 5-10 22. Totals: 24 12-24 62.
I-Town Prep: J’mia Green 8 7-17 23, Addie Biggs 0 0-0 0, Kylie Green 2 1-5 6, Ava Koopmans 1 0-0 2, Gabbie Pearsey 0 0-0 0, Layla Grim 0 0-0 0, Aniya Irvin 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 8-22 31.
3-point goals: Columbus Chrisitan 2 (Bond, Murray). I-Town Prep 1 (R. Green).
