Cardinal Newman girls defeat Northwood for first SCISA 3A title

Northwood did everything it could to erase an early deficit to the Cardinal Newman girls Saturday. The Cardinals did just a little more to keep that margin through most of the SCISA 3A girls championship matchup with the Chargers.

Audrey Meyers scored 23 points and Ashley Watkins had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks as Cardinal Newman kept its distance on Northwood and claimed the 3A state crown with a 53-44 victory at the Sumter County Civic Center.

It was the Cardinals’ first state title in girls basketball.

“An inside presence was key,” Cardinal Newman head coach Molly Rainwater said. “Ashley did a good job of doing that, and Audrey did a good job handling the ball. They all did a good job. I’m very proud of them. All the credit goes to them.”

Cardinal Newman (25-4), which bested Porter Gaud 51-38 the night before, took a 10-1 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The Chargers (26-7) fought back to within 12-10 with 1:33 left in the first, but Erin Boyer and Watkins hit three of four foul shots to close out the quarter 15-10.

Northwood got to within 17-13 at the 5-minute mark of the second, but Cardinal Newman closed out the first half on top with a 13-9 scoring run to take a 30-22 lead into the locker room.

“I just told them to keep their heads and calm down,” Rainwater said about stifling the rally. “We had to prevent turnovers and value the ball. That was one of the things I told them, and as long as we kept our heads and played good defense we would be fine.”

The second half was a tale of Cardinal Newman keeping that cushion on the Chargers. Northwood battled back to 41-35 by the end of the third quarter, but Cardinal Newman won the fourth quarter 12-9 and secured the title.

C: Audrey Meyers 23, Ashlyn Watkins 12, Hagen 6, Dayhuff 5, Boyer 3, Kennedy 2, Etter 2. N: Jones 8, Bostick 6, Jones 6, Gregory 6, Halverson 5, Ambroise 5, Manigault 5, Simpson 3.