GICC Girls Comeback To Win The Centennial Conference Tournament

Photo Credit: Grand Island Central Catholic/Facebook

(Hastings, NE) - A game that will go down as a comeback for the ages on Saturday afternoon at Hastings St Cecilia saw the Grand Island Central Catholic Crusader girls defeat Lincoln Christian 44-42 to claim the Centennial Conference Tournament championship. GICC dug themselves into a halftime hole of 32-14 highlighted by six three-pointers drained by Lincoln Christian and 14 first-half points from 6-1 junior Kena Ailes. The Crusaders would then storm back in the 3rd quarter after two free throws by Lincoln Christian, GICC would then go on a 14-0 run to get back into the contest down 34-28 just under the three-minute mark. The Crusaders would still trail at the end of the third but only by four points, 38-34. A Bryndal Moody three-pointer with 2:30 left in the game would tie the contest up at 42 all with 2:30 left in the game. The game would remain scoreless from that point until 3.5 seconds left with GICC having possession on the baseline in front of their bench. An inbounds pass that was originally designed for Carolyn Maser was tossed into Avery O'Boyle who drove outside the right lane line and tossed up a floater with the right hand. The ball missed the rim and came down into the hands of Maser, who then put the ball back up off the glass and fell through the cylinder for the game-winning points to complete the comeback. GICC in the second half would outscore Lincoln Christian 30-10. Also, the Crusader starting five did not come off the floor playing all 32 minutes. 

GICC with the win has now won 11 in a row and pushes their record to 16-1. Lincoln Christian drops to 14-2 on the season. GICC girls will next be in action on Tuesday, January 30th at Aurora. 6:15 pm for the Pump and Pantry Pregame show on KRGI 1430/105.5 & krgi.com. 

Note: GICC boys will host Aquinas on Monday, January 29th. Listen live on KRGI 1430/105.5 & krgi.com. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm. 

GI Central Catholic   8  6  20  10  - 44

Lincoln Christian      19  13  6  4 -  42

GICC Scoring: O'Boyle 8 - Tibbets 3 - M.Herbek 5 - Maser 15 - Moody 13 

L.Christian Scoring: J.Hueser 3 - Kassebaum 6 - A.Hueser 3 - Pittenger 8 - Ailes 22 

GICC (Centennial Tournament Champs) over Lincoln Christian 44-42.
Down 32-14 Half - 6 LC 3-pointers
14-0 Run In 3rd ✅
GICC 20-6 3rd ✅
GICC 30-10 2nd half ✅
"Ruby 5" played the entire game ✅@GICCBoosterClub @GICC_Crusaders #ComeBack #BookIt 👇 pic.twitter.com/ZWopa82QJr

— Matt Williams (@mattymattradio) January 28, 2024