‘A little bit sweeter’: For Cardinal Newman girls, it’s back-to-back 3A state titles

Having Ashlyn Watkins on the bench with four fouls in the first half wasn’t an ideal development for Cardinal Newman against Northwood in Saturday’s SCISA 3A championship game.

Yet there the 6-foot-3 sophomore small forward sat with two minutes to go in the second quarter and the Cardinals down 26-23 at the Sumter County Civic Center.

“I had to stay focused on staying out of the game for the third quarter,” Watkins said. “I was telling my team that they needed to step up. Just because I’m not in the game doesn’t mean we’re gonna lose.”

Watkins did re-enter the game to start the fourth quarter. And with that went Northwood’s 1-point lead just a minute later, as the Cardinals eventually outlasted the Chargers 60-53.

Watkins, who finished the night with 11 points and 10 rebounds, scored a basket to put Cardinal Newman up 44-43. That shot was two points of a 14-0 scoring run that straddled the third and fourth quarters and enabled the Cardinals to successfully defend their championship.

“Her fire was up a lot,” Cardinal Newman coach Molly Moore said. “Wanting to get back in there was real key, but she did a heck of a job cheering on her teammates on the sideline.”

Northwood (24-2) held a 29-25 lead at the half and kept it through the third quarter, albeit a tenuous 43-42 advantage. The Cardinals scored the last seven points of that quarter to get within striking distance.

When Watkins came off the bench, everything fell into place. She didn’t foul out, and her team worked up to a 49-43 lead with 5:19 to go.

That margin stayed roughly the same all the way to Northwood’s Kiara Gregory’s basket near the final buzzer.

“It was fun, it was a good environment, I love coaching during it,” Moore said of the championship game. “It does feel a little bit sweeter considering we were down pretty much the entire game and having to battle back.”

Tanaja Kennedy led all scorers with 20 points, including a 3-pointer; six-of-eight free-throw shooting; and five baskets from inside the 3-point line. Audrey Meyers had 13 points but was also a beast under the net with 10 boards.

Alayah Birch led the Chargers with 17 points and seven rebounds. Rachel Ambrose had 11 points and 11 boards, while Kiara Gregory had 10 points.

The task of keeping Northwood contained proved very difficult, but Watkins kept the faith in her team.

“They were a very tough team to beat,” Watkins said. “Once I got back in there, I was like, ‘Come on, I gotta pull away so we can win this championship.’”

N: Alayah Birch 17, Rachel Ambrose 11, Kiara Gregory 10, Manigault 7, Ferguson 5, Jones 3. C: Tanaja Kennedy 20, Audrey Myers 13, Ashlyn Watkins 11, Dayhuff 8, Hogan 4, Holbrook 3, Slattery 1.

This story was originally published February 29, 2020 at 11:51 PM.