Lady Cards earn SubDistrict win over St. Edward
RANDOLPH — The Randolph Lady Cards wrapped up the regular season last week and entered postseason Monday on a high note, defeating St. Edward.
After a season that was awash with injuries and subsequent struggles on the basketball court, the Randolph Lady Cardinals are set for a chance at redemption.
The postseason may or may not mean a sudden run of numerous wins, but what it does offer is a chance for a relatively young roster to give itself something to look back at with fondness when all is said and done.
That’s why this week’s SubDistrict D-2 tournament at Humphrey St. Francis had so much more riding on it then just a chance to win in the postseason.
After defeating St. Edward the Randolph girls moved on to take on the top-seeded Flyers on Tuesday.
“If we can do a good job of taking care of the ball and getting stops defensively it’s a game we can definitely win,” Randolph coach Marcus Papenhausen said. “Hopefully the girls will come out to a second win on the season. If we are fortunate enough to win that game, we will then take on the returning state champion. They are a very sound team but would be a great opportunity to get to face off with them.”
The Lady Cardinals wrapped up the regular season with a 49- 25 loss to Tri County Northeast and a 57-29 defeat to Stuart last week.
Erin Engel (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Jessa Backer (nine points, six rebounds) led the way against TCNE while Engel had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Ella Scott added nine points and six rebounds against Stuart.
“In both games we didn’t do a good job of taking care of the ball,” Papenhausen said. “We talked about playing with control, but we rushed too many things and didn’t get ourselves into an offensive rhythm.
“(Against Stuart), we did do a better job than on Tuesday so hopefully we carry that over into sub-district play. We gotta pick up our sense of urgency and get out there and play disciplined controlled basketball.”
Engel said that the team played better than they have and moved the ball around well and at a tempo more to their liking.
The Lady Cardinals have breathed some fresh air with nine able bodies the last few weeks after playing a heavy portion of the season with six players due to a myriad of issues.
“It’s a positive, obviously, especially if you need a quick breather, you can get one and we have more girls to practice with,” Engel said. “The new players are helping more than hurting, but with having six it’s hurting worse than you are already hurting.
“With the additions we have been putting together the last pieces here.”
She also noticed the confidence of the team grows knowing that if one needs to sit for a bit, they can afford to and not push it beyond a player’s limits.
What is the limit for the Lady Cardinals in the sub-district?
“You never know what is going to happen, so we are going to leave it all out there for our last go-around,” Engel said.
Randolph 6 2 8 9 — 25
Tri County NE 24 14 9 2 — 49
SCORING Randolph- Erin Engel, 12; Jessa Backer, 9; Emma Munter, 2; Stella Askey, 2.
REBOUNDS Randolph - Erin Engel,12; Jaci Bartels, 9; Emma Munter, 7; Jessa Backer, 6; Ella Scott, 5; Riley Thelen, 3; Ryanne Winkelbauer, 3; Mal Vallejo, 1; Stella Askey, 1.
ASSISTS Randolph - Ella Scott, 2; Mal Vallejo, 2; Jaci Bartels,2; Ryanne Winkelbauer, 1.
STEALS Randolph - Ella Scott,5; Jacie Bartels,2; Erin Engel,2; Emma Munter, 1; Jessa Backer, 1.
Randolph 7 6 6 10 — 29
Stuart 16 15 13 13 — 57
SCORING Randolph- Erin Engel, 11; Ella Scott, 7; Mal Vallejo, 5; Jessa Backer, 4; Ryanne Winkelbauer, 2.
REBOUNDS Randolph - Erin Engel,10; Jessa Backer, 5; Ella Scott, 5; Stella Askey 1,; Jacie Bartels,1.
