The Patriots are 32 minutes from getting another state chance, this time at UD Arena. On Tuesday, they showed their typical second-half moxie and defeated Valley View 45-36 in a Division II regional semifinal at Springfield High School. Next up is the regional final at 7:30 Friday at Springfield against GCL Co-ed rival Hamilton Badin, a 50-49 winner over Columbus Bishop Hartley.
»»PHOTOS: Carroll tops Valley View to reach regional finals
“Next game isn’t just regional finals to me – it’s more than that,” Lickliter said. “It’s a chance to go back to where we got everything ripped away from us. I’m so grateful that we made it this far again and have the chance to go prove that we deserve to be there.”
Fellow senior Megan Leraas couldn’t agree more.
“It’s pushing us a lot to get back to where we were and to try to win a state title,” she said. “I hope we go back. I think we can if we keep playing as a team and play hard.”
Credit: Michael Cooper
Credit: Michael Cooper
Valley View coach Steve Dickson, whose team has won three straight district titles but been unable to win a regional game, is pulling for Carroll.
“I was heartbroken last year when they got pulled off the gym floor in Columbus,” Dickson said. “If anybody’s going to do it, I hope they do.”
Carroll defeated Badin twice this season, 59-56 in overtime and 45-33 during what is now a run of 12 wins in 13 games.
“Badin’s a good team, they’re a tough team,” Carroll coach Cecelia Grosselin said. “We know it’s going to be a battle and it’s going to require a lot of preparation. We told them tonight, ‘You cannot take this team lightly.’”
The Rams certainly didn’t take Valley View lightly. The Spartans beat the Patriots 45-28 in late December.
“We knew that they’re a good team and that we couldn’t get in a hole like we did against Tipp,” Lickliter said. “We couldn’t come out at halftime and be down 13. We had to stay with them the whole time if we wanted to stay with them and beat them.”
The Spartans led 26-20 at halftime, getting the ball inside to Lauren Legate and knocking down 3-pointers. But the Spartans only scored 10 points in the second half, six of which came from senior point guard Abigail Dickson. She finished with 12 points.
Credit: Michael Cooper
Credit: Michael Cooper
The Patriots made a couple of halftime defensive adjustments to help more on Legate and close out on shooters harder, but the Spartans were unable to make enough of the good shots they saw.
“Couldn’t score a basket – what else is there to talk about,” Steve Dickson said. “We missed four or five layups, we missed jump shots, we just couldn’t score. Not that their defense was that great, we just couldn’t make shots. And we had plenty of them. That’s what’s disappointing.”
Congrats to @CarrollWHoops and @girlsbadinbbal on wins tonight and making it to Elite Eight! Will make it another year with @gclcoedsports making it to the Final Four. Further proof how great our league is! 🏀💪👏
— Alter Lady Knights Basketball (@AlterGirlsBball) March 3, 2021
Carroll made big shots. Leraas put the Patriots up 29-28 with a 3-pointer at the 3:11 mark of the third quarter. Then Lickliter banked in a high-arcing three. In the fourth, Leraas made a 12-footer for a five-point lead. Then Lickliter pulled up in transition and made the shot that sealed the game, an 18-footer from the left wing, for a 41-36 lead with 1:35 left.
“We’re a second-half team so I knew we would pick it up second half,” Leraas said. “First half was good for us, then our shots really started falling second half.”
Leraas scored 15 points, Lickliter 13 and Sarah Ochs nine. It was Leraas’ second straight 15-point game.
“She rounds our team out,” Grosselin said. “Ava and Sarah are so fantastic driving in and getting to the rim, but it’s nice for them to know if they need to kick it out, they’ve got Megan there waiting to knock it down.”
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