By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Bishop LeBlond girls' basketball team had experienced the high of district titles and making it to the state quarterfinals each of the previous two seasons.
They also experienced snakebite in state quarterfinals each of the previous two seasons, falling one win shy of the Final Four in both years.
The Eagles (27-3) broke their state quarterfinal curse Saturday, defeating Miller 55-39 at the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph. LeBlond has punched it ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 1986.
LeBlond got off to a 10-3 start in the first quarter before Miller hit back and made it a 12-7 ballgame at the end of one.
The Eagles proceeded to reel off a 9-0 run to start the second period and led 26-12 at halftime.
Miller (25-5) made its strongest push in the third quarter, getting back to within 31-21. However, third quarter threes by senior Katie Beam and her junior sister, Kayla, pushed LeBlond's lead to 38-24 by the start of the fourth.
The Eagles pushed the lead to as many as 18 points, adding 17 more points to their total over the final eight minutes.
Junior Kyla Conard led LeBlond with 14 points - eight of that in the first quarter. Katie Beam finished with 13, while senior Tatum Studer dropped 11. Senior Shae Lewis scored seven, while juniors Kayla Beam and Kaleigh Ziesel each finished with five.
Ashlynn Helton led Miller with nine points. Rachel Nunez, Haylie Schnake and Alyssa Hill each had eight. The Eagles turned the Cardinals over 16 times, and LeBlond held Miller to just three made field goals in the first half.
LeBlond advances to state semifinals on Friday, March 10 to face New Haven (17-10) at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.
It marks just the third ever trip to the Final Four for the LeBlond girls, as the Eagles will try to win a state in girls basketball for the first time since 1983.
Kyla Conard interview
Jackie Steltenpohl interview
FULL game broadcast
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