The University girls opened Class 2A Sectional 43 play Tuesday night with a 65-44 win over Cascade in a contest played at Western Boone.
University’s seniors led the way. Lindsey Syrek had 21 points and Maddi Sears had 13 points and 11 assists. Syrek’s final basket of the night gave her 1,800 points in the 100th game of her career, just the third girl in Hamilton County history to reach the milestone. Syrek made 9 of 12 field goals for the game.
Freshman Jordan Patterson came off the bench to contribute 10 points. Kelsey DuBois had eight points and eight rebounds, Payton Seay had seven points, seven rebounds and four steals. Sierra Hinds rounded out the scoring for University (22-1) with six points and chipped in with six rebounds and three steals.
A 19-0 run over a nine-minute stretch of the second and third quarters was the decisive stretch for University. The Blazers led just 18-15 with five minutes left in the first half. University scored the last 11 points of the half to lead 29-15 at the break. Syrek started the run off a pass from Hinds. Patterson hit a three pointer off a Sears assist and Seay had a steal and lay-in to get the lead to 25-15. DuBois followed with a rebound basket and Syrek scored before the half.
The 8-0 start to the third quarter included a pair of Syrek foul shots, a DuBois basket, a Sears basket and another Patterson bucket after DuBois grabbed an offensive rebound. 13 of University’s 31 rebounds came on the offensive glass. The University lead was as high as 25 at 45-20 and the Trailblazers led 47-26 after three periods.
Cascade cut the lead to 16 on three occasions in the fourth quarter, but could not get closer.
Cascade was led by Carley Gibbs with 12 points. The Cadets finish 12-11.
The second ranked Trailblazers advance to play 14th-ranked Covenant Christian in Friday night’s second semi-final. Host Western Boone plays Park Tudor in the opener on Friday.
UNIVERSITY 65, CASCADE 44
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 9-12 3-4 21 3
Maddi Sears 5-11 1-2 13 1
Jordan Patterson 4-10 0-0 10 1
Kelsey DuBois 4-8 0-0 8 1
Sierra Hinds 2-11 3-3 7 2
Payton Seay 2-9 2-4 6 2
Lilly Fair 0-0 0-0 0 0
Elise Nachlis 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 26-61 9-13 65 10
Score by Quarters
University 16 13 18 18 – 65
Cascade 11 4 11 18 – 44
University 3-point shooting (4-8) Sears 2-4, Patterson 2-2, Hinds 0-2.
University rebounds (31) DuBois 8, Seay 7, Hinds 6, Sears 4, Syrek 3, Patterson 2, Nachlis 1.