For the Daily Journal
Edinburgh and Indianapolis Lutheran were deadlocked for the first three quarters of Tuesday’s girls basketball game.
A fourth-quarter surge by the Lancers proved to be the difference.
A 3-pointer by freshman Destiney Ramey kickstarted a rally of nine straight points for the Lancers. Allie Schooler and Taylor Tatlock combined to sink eight straight free throws down the stretch as the Lancers propelled to a 51-43 victory.
It was a defensive adjustment in the fourth quarter by the Lancers (2-0) that put a lot of pressure on the Saints (1-1) and helped get the rally going.
The adjustment focused on slowing down the top two Lutheran players, Rylee Morris and Darianne Synder, who tore apart the Lancer defense inside and outside over the first three quarters.
“We did a really great job of changing the defense because we never done it before,” Edinburgh coach Amy Schilling said. “I told these girls all summer that our defense brings our offense. We got a few stops and got our offense going and we took really good care of the basketball.”
The Saints led the game 5-3 early in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Makenzie Hill and Bri Howard pushed them into the lead, 9-5.
With the Lancers leading 21-16 in the closing minutes of the first half, the Saints scored six straight points to take a 22-21 halftime lead.
Schooler, who was absent from the box score in the first half, scored all of her game-high 14 points in the second half. Tatlock finished with nine points, while Ramey and Sidney Beier each added eight points.
After Ramey hit the go ahead 3 in the fourth quarter, consecutive baskets by Schooler and Tatlock pushed the Lancer lead to 45-37. Edinburgh did not have a great night of shooting from the foul line overall, but it made its free throws when it mattered most.
“I like how we are going,” Schilling said. “This is going to be a team that I will have to pull in sometimes. They’re quick and athletic, but we just go at one speed.
“Sometimes we have to let to set it up. I have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and our freshmen are still learning the varsity quickness.”