By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Top-ranked Wellington Napoleon (23-2) turned a close game at halftime into a comfortable victory as the Tigers took down Bishop LeBlond, 52-32 in a Class 2 quarterfinal at Grace Gymnasium Saturday.
The Eagles (18-8) led 12-11 after the first quarter, but Wellington-Napoleon nabbed a 25-20 lead at the break, and proceeded to outscore LeBlond 27-12 over the final two quarters.
Junior Ayden Shannon, who came in averaging 23 points per contest, scored a game-high 24 Saturday, including a trio of three-pointers. Junior Alison Dehn scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half.
Sophomores Katie Beam and Tatum Studer each led the Eagles with seven points, but they were both held scoreless in the second half. Junior Sloan Lewis scored six - all in the second half.
While it's tough to have a season end at home, Bishop LeBlond had a historic run this year. The Eagles got their first winning season since 2015, played in their first district title game since 2011, won their first district championship since 2007 and made their first Elite 8 since 1994.
What's more - LeBlond returns their entire starting lineup next year, and will have all but one player on their roster back for next season.
Wellington-Napoleon, who's now 11-1 in their last 12 games and 49-3 in their last 52, advances to the ShowMe Showdown in Springfield, marking the first Final Four appearance for the Tigers since 1994.
Wellington-Napoleon will face Scotland County in the semifinals on Thursday, Mar. 11 at 7 p.m.
Wellington-Napoleon 52 - 11, 14, 14, 13
Bishop LeBlond 32 - 13, 7, 6, 6
Wellington-Napoleon scorers - Ayden Shannon - 24, Alison Dehn - 14, Sydney Nieweg - 6, Bree Shannon - 4, Leighann Briggle - 2, Megan Nieweg - 2
Bishop LeBlond scorers - Tatum Studer - 7, Katie Beam - 7, Sloan Lewis - 6, Emma Raines - 4, Kaleigh Ziesel - 3, Kayla Beam - 3, Shae Lewis - 2
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