It took a little longer, but Oran’s reign over Class 2 districts is over for now.
St. Vincent overcame several obstacles and injuries to outlast Oran 63-55 in overtime in the Class 2, District 3 final on Saturday afternoon at Advance High School.
It is the St. Vincent girls’ first district title since 2011.
“Our girls didn’t quit,” St. Vincent coach Mel Kirn said. “We had starters foul out and other stepped in and did a great job. These girls are so young that they have never been in these pressure situations before and they did well.”
It wasn’t easy to dethrone Oran who had won nine straight district crowns, including eliminating St. Vincent the past four seasons.
St. Vincent finally broke through Saturday.
Emmendorfer, who had 15 points, including four three-pointers, and others played a big role for St. Vincent throughout the game. Rylee Robinson and Lana Adams had 12 points, and Allie Patrick had 11 points.
The Indians were in firm control for much of the game, holding double digit leads at various times in the first and second half
Holding a 44-35 lead to begin the fourth quarter, St. Vincent junior Cailyn Prost hit a three-pointer in the opening minute to stretch the lead to 12. From there, Oran made its run. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run led by Haley Webb, who had 29 points for the Eagles, which led all scorers.
The Eagles inched closer and closer until they finally took a 54-53 lead with 17 seconds left in regulation on a pair of free throws by Kendall Burger. St. Vincent’s Allie Patrick missed a contested lay-up with 10 seconds left, but St. Vincent deployed a half-court trap which forced Oran to turn it over with a little more than three seconds left.
Patrick drove to the basket and was fouled and hit the second of two free throws to send the game into overtime.
“We knew Oran would fight back,” Kirn said. “We knew coming down here it wasn’t going to be a walk. They have a good program that wins all the time. You don’t win nine district titles by accident. I’ve watched Webb for four years and she’s a good player. Our girls rose to the occasion.”
St. Vincent regained the momentum and outscored Oran 11-1 in the extra period.
“We really got in their face in the overtime and made it as difficult as we could,” Kirn said. “Our defense really stepped up. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Robinson hit a key three-pointer midway through the overtime, which was the only shot that the Indians made in overtime. Other than that, the Indians repeatedly drove to the basket and was sent to the free throw line. Allie Patrick went 5 for 10 and Haley Emmendorfer went 1 for 2 in the extra period, after missing the end of the fourth quarter diving on the floor after a loose ball. Lana Adams and Mallory Patrick also fouled out in regulation
Oran was down to many of its bench players by the end of the game also, as they played just six players for a majority of the game.
Both teams started slowly in the game, as St. Vincent tied the game at 2-2 at the 4:35 mark of the first quarter and led 11-7 after the first eight minutes. St. Vincent’s pressure bothered Oran and forced them into several turnovers , none was more evident than a steal by Patrick, who threw it ahead to Prost for the lay-up at the halftime buzzer. St. Vincent led 29-16 and looked prime to run away with the game at the break, but Oran had other plans.
St. Vincent (24-3) will take on New Haven (15-10) in a Class 2 Sectional at Park Hills Central at 6 p.m. New Haven defeated Bismarck 39-31 in district 4.
“We are going to enjoy this one and then get back to work,” Kirn said.
