Culver wins top-10 battle with Boone

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:26AM

In a game of struggling offenses, Culver ended Boone Grove's season with a 41-34 win on Friday night to advance to the North Newton Sectional final.

Culver will face off against Winamac, which held off rival North Judson 39-36 in the other semifinal.

"We executed the things we wanted to do, we just couldn't get shots to fall early," said Culver coach Tony Scheub. "But our girls showed the resiliency they have and played 32 minutes to capture the win and move on to the sectional final."

Fifth-ranked Boone Grove and sixth-ranked Culver both came out struggling on offense. Culver tried to attack the middle, utilizing its size advantage, but could not get the ball through the cylinder. On the other hand, Boone went to the perimeter but could not convert its shots.

A back-and-forth first quarter ended with Boone securing a 7-4 lead on a 3-pointer by Emily Bobrowski.

The second quarter was a mirror of the first as Culver once again worked to get the ball down low and Boone took to the outside. Neither team could manage much scoring, with Boone shooting just 22 percentand Culver 24percent. Culver took a 14-13 lead into the locker room.

It was more of the same in the third, as Boone Grove squeaked out a 21-20 lead after three quarters.

But in the fourth quarter, Culver's Patrice McBee stepped up and took charge, scoring eight of her game-high 16 points in the final period.

Boone Grove (20-2) - led in scoring by Emily Bobrowski with 14 points and Brittany Schaffer with 11 points - fought hard but couldn't combat Culver's height advantage.

"We did what we wanted to do defensively, but couldn't get the shots to drop for us," said Wolves coach Candy Wilson. "I am extremely proud of our girls on a hard-fought battle and a fantastic season."

In the second game, North Judson game out the aggressor, maintaining an eight-point lead through much of the first half. Winamac came out strong in the second half and fought its way back into the game. Sarah Redweik led the charge with her game-high 14 points, all of which came in the second half.

Winamac (13-9) clung to a 39-36 lead with four seconds left when North Judson's Elisabeth White fired up a potential game-tying 3- pointer that just missed.

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