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The Columbus Lady Cardinals are heading back to the State Tournament after defeating Lytle, London and Aranas Pass this past week.
The Lady Cards were underdogs and beat three quality teams to earn a spot back in the State Tournament for the second straight year.
Vs. Lytle, 73-53, W
Starting things off in the regional quarter finals the Lady Cards took on Lytle. Lytle came in with a lot of momentum and a ton of expectations given their district schedule success.
The Lady Cards took the game right to Lytle and dropped 27 points in the first quarter to set the tone for the rest of the game. The Lady Cards found a lot of success offensively in all areas of the court.
If it were shooting threes, mid-range or driving through to the paint the Lady Cards were able to find the bottom of the net. Karlee Mathis is known for her scoring touch, but she took a back seat role because two other Lady Cards were in their bag offensively.
Thea Schobel and Anaya Gardner led the way for the Lady Cards, recording 21 and 29 points, respectively. The duo used their length and size to get favorable matchups and made no mistake when they had opportunities.
The duo’s effort was a major factor in helping advance to the regional semifinals against London on Friday.
Vs. London, 48-41, W
The Lady Cards continued to roll on Friday and Gardner continued to be the hottest scorer in the tournament.
In a close game, the Lady Cards looked her way a lot during crunch time, and she ended up posting 15 points in the winning effort. But this game allowed the Lady Cards to show that, yes, they can score, but they can also shut down the court and close out a game.
With time winding down the Lady Cards fundamental and cohesive defensive effort was the story. London is another team that had a lot of expectations after a successful district schedule, but the Lady Cards showed no fear and punched their ticket to the Regional finals.
Vs. Aransas Pass, 61 44, W
In the Regional Final, the Lady Cards got a pleasant surprise as Mathis found her scoring touch again.
Mathis scored 18 points, had five rebounds, eight assists and had two steals to the delight of Cardinals fans. Seeing the leader of the team step up in a big game, the way Mathis did only fire up the crowd as well as her teammates.
Gardener was again a major factor for the Lady Cards offensively scoring 23 points and shooting an outstanding 41% from threepoint range. The Lady Cards are now in the State Semi-Finals with Huntington now in their sights.
The Lady Cards will be looking to finish what they started last year when they go toe-to-toe with Huntington on Thursday, Feb. 29, in San Antonio.
