Carlisle keeps giving its large gathering of
loyal fans a reason to cheer.
The fourth-ranked Wildcats are in the Class 4A
semifinals for the second straight year after charging from behind in the
fourth quarter to hand No. 5 Waverly-Shell Rock its first loss of the season,
56-50.
Their success the past two years under coach
Bryan White has come after the Wildcats struggled through a 1-22 season in
2012-13.
In this latest victory, Payton Keeney broke a
45-45 tie with a free throw and Agatha Baier followed
with a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner for a 49-45 lead with 3:20
remaining. The Wildcats (22-2) stayed on top the rest of the way, helped by Baier's slick high-low pass to Keeney for a layup that put
Carlisle up 51-46.
Keeney finished 6-for-9 from the field and led
the Wildcats with 20 points. Kaleigh Haus added 15 points, while Baeier
had 10 points and six assists.
Carlisle outscored Waverly-Shell Rock 14-7 at the
free throw line to help offset the Go-Hawks' 28-19 rebounding advantage.
Victoria Asplund led
Waverly-Shell Rock (23-1) with 14 points. Haley Grawe
and Sophia Phillips each scored eight for the Go-Hawks, who made it to state
for the second time in three years.
In a back-and-forth game, both teams had leads of
seven points in the opening half before Carlisle settled for 30-27 advantage at
the break. The Go-Hawks' tied it on Payton Draper's three-point play early in
the second half and used a 9-2 run to open a 43-37 lead early in the fourth
quarter.
Carlisle ran off six quick points to tie it, then
hit the shots it needed down the stretch to win it while holding the Go-Hawks
to one basket over the final 7 minutes.
Next up for Carlisle -- a semifinal game at 6:45
p.m. Thursday.