By Dale Miller
dale.miller@theindependent.com

Grand Island Central Catholic found that out first hand Thursday in the Class C-2, Subdistrict 9 final at Kearney High.

The No. 4-rated (Omaha World-Herald) Crusaders never led and only tied the game once before falling 55-49.

GICC did hang close and trailed 41-40 with 5 minutes, 10 seconds left before the No. 7 Bluejays used a 7-0 run to take control of the game down the stretch.

"They're an explosive team," Ravenna coach Jeff Thober said. "The other night (against Blue Hill) it was defense all the time. (Against GICC) we had to generate offense.

"We hit some big 3-point shots. The plan coming in was to take it to the hole and drive. So much for coaching."

Ravenna (19-6) sank 8 of 24 from behind the 3-point line. That included treys from Steph Muhlbach and Emily Achtenberg after a 3-pointer by Tali Fredrickson pulled the Crusaders (18-7) within 41-40.

"Defensively they're very good," Central Catholic coach Andy Anspauch said. "Offensively they're streaky. I hoped their cold streak would last longer. They hit a couple outside shots. I hoped it would take longer, like until tomorrow."

Alicia Statler, who had a game-high 27 points, pulled GICC within 49-45 with 1:47 left but Ravenna sealed the win by going 5-for-6 on free throws in 1-and-1 situations.

"When you get behind a team that plays good pressure defense like that, you expend a lot of energy getting caught up," Anspauch said.

"It's tough. We were fortunate enough the first time (in a 61-55 OT win on Nov. 30) to be able to find a way. Tonight that was not the case."

The Bluejays jumped out to a 10-4 lead. GICC only evened it up once at 13 before Ravenna pulled ahead 26-19 at halftime and by as many as 12 in the third quarter.

Statler led the GICC comeback. She went 11-for-21 from the floor with a majority of her points coming off offensive rebounds.

Even though she picked up her fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, Ravenna couldn't find a way to slow her down.

"(The foul trouble) didn't matter," Thober said. "It seemed like she scored even when she was on the bench. She's a great, great player.

"We did a horrible job checking her off. To her credit, she had great positioning."

Anspauch said: "Alicia did the things she needed to do. She scored off offensive rebounds. She seemed to be close to every offensive rebounds."

Even with a double digit lead in the third, Thober wasn't surprised to see the gap close in the fourth.

"We've had a lot of games like this against good teams," he said. "They're going to make runs. We talked about it going to be a four-quarter game. It didn't matter what the quarter is and what the score is."

Muhlbach scored 10 of her team-best 13 points in the second half, when she went 4-for-4. Emily Achtenberg came off the bench to add 12 points on 4-for-7 3-point shooting.

Ravenna advances to the District 5 final next Friday against undefeated Cambridge at a site to be determined. It'll be another strong challenge for the Bluejays, who have won 9 of their last 10, including five in a row against teams with at least 14 wins.

GICC now must wait to see if it will earn one of the two wild card bids to the state tournament. The Crusaders sit fifth in the wild card standings, but Elmwood-Murdock, which is fourth, also lost on Thursday.

RAVENNA 55, GRAND ISLAND CENTRAL CATHOLIC 49

RAVENNA (19-5)

Grabowski 0-4 2-6 2, Irvine 3-4 2-4 9, McDowell 2-8 4-4 10, Muhlbach 5-11 2-4 13, Achtenberg 4-7 0-0 12, Crowell 2-3 1-2 5, Markvicka 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 17-46 13-22 55.

GICC (18-7)

Moravec 1-5 0-0 3, Stump 1-5 1-3 4, Fredrickson 3-10 1-1 8, McGowan 2-5 0-0 5, Statler 11-21 4-4 27, Kime 1-6 0-0 2, Ross 0-1 0-2 0, Partington 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 6-10 49.

3-point field goalsRavenna 8-24 (Grabowski 0-3, Achtenberg 4-7, Crowell 0-1, Irvine 1-2, Markvicka 0-2, McDowell 2-7, Muhlbach 1-2), GICC 5-15 (Moravec 1-2, Stump 1-4, Fredrickson 1-5, McGowan 1-1, Statler 1-3). Fouled outMcGowan, Statler. ReboundsRavenna 35 (Irvine, Pernicek 6), GICC 35 (Statler 10). AssistsRavenna 9 (Grabowski, Muhlbach 3), GICC 11 (McGowan 4). TurnoversRavenna 15, GICC 18. Total foulsRavenna 12, GICC 17. Technicalsnone.