1A high school girls basketball: St. Joseph slows Rich down for the upset, title

RICHFIELD — St. Joseph guard Katie Panushka knew it would be a challenge to keep up with the speed and intensity of top-ranked Rich.

But as coach Joe Cravens told the girls before Saturday night's 45-34 victory at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield, it really came down to their ability to play as hard as they could.

"He told me I had the rest of my life to be tired," said a red-faced but beaming Panushka, who was key in the win with 18 points.

Which may be why she said she would celebrate the school's first title by "sleeping." She even accepted a teammate's offer of a piggyback ride to the bus.

It wasn't just the physical toll, the players said earning their first championship was more emotional than they expected. Many let tears flow freely as they congratulated each other and then Rich.

The Rebels had dominated every opponent they'd played in the tournament. Quick, athletic and relentlessly committed to defense, the Rebels thrive on a high-possession game.

"So we had a new game plan," said Panushka, "something we'd never done before. We were supposed to run the clock down, make them come to us, spread the floor and have a low-possession game. Coach said the most important thing is take the thing a team does best, and take it away from them."

And that's exactly what they did.

They looked a bit tentative at the start of the game, but they said they were just trying to follow Cravens' game plan.

And then Katie Berry scored seven points, while the Jayhawk defense held Rich to just three points in the first quarter.

Both coaches thought that was a pivotal point in a thriller of a game.

"The key was the first quarter when they hit those big threes," said Rich coach Scott Ferguson. "That gave them the lead. After that, I thought things were fairly even throughout."

Rich had impressive play from all of the players who stepped on the floor. They were led by Courtney Lamborn, who scored 17 points, Cassidy McKee, who hit three critical 3-point shots, and Tristin Bowers, whose defensive effort was, once again, suffocating.

"Offensively we didn't shine tonight," said Ferguson. "They wanted to slow it down, and that hurt us."