Recap
The Heritage Christian Eagles traveled south to face the defending conference champion Roncalli Rebels on Thursday night. The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-2 lead before Roncalli was able to close the gap to 10-8 at the end of the first quarter. Heritage Christian controlled the next two quarters with outstanding ball movement, sound shot selection, and stifling defense to lead 45-30 at the end of three. The Rebels managed to shoot their way back into contention late in the game. With the lead cut to 41-47 inside of three minutes to play, the Eagles went into “keep-away” mode. Unforced turnovers (a problem all night for the Rebels) and solid free throw shooting at the other end eventually doomed Roncalli to a 54-46 loss.
Katlyn Gilbert (HC) led all scorers with 21 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the floor. Madison Ferguson (HC) dropped in another 14 for the victorious Eagles. Roncalli was paced by Anna Bauer, who scored a career high 12 points. Ellie Bischoff and Alana Vinson each added 10 of their own for the host Rebels.
Heritage Christian improved to 2-0 in the conference and 5-3 overall. They will next face Illinois powerhouse Montini Catholic in Dixie Heights, Kentucky. Montini has won three state championships in the past nine years. Dating back to the 2015-16 season, they are 71-5 (7-0 this season per MaxPreps). HCS’s next conference game will be against Bishop Chatard (4-2, 0-0) on December 8th.
Roncalli falls to 4-4. They will next face Warren Central on December 5th, in the Marion County Tournament. The Warriors are 6-2. This game will be played at Roncalli. The Rebels’ next conference game will be against Brebeuf Jesuit (1-6, 0-0) on December 15th.