Wooldridge lifts CPU to Wamac West title

CENTER POINT - Arika Wooldridge dribbled the ball, eyed the basket, bent her knees and whispered self-assurance.

'I kept thinking positive thoughts,” Wooldridge said. 'You can do it. You can do it.”

Wooldridge sank 5 of 6 free throws in the final 39 seconds to cap a 24-point, 15-rebound masterpiece, lifting Class 3A seventh-ranked Center Point-Urbana past 4A No. 13 Marion, 51-46, to wrap up the Wamac Conference West Division girls' basketball championship Tuesday night at Center Point-Urbana High School.

The Stormin' Pointers (17-4 overall, 13-1 division) ended the game on a 12-2 spree and won their 12th consecutive game.

'I think our fans motivated us to get us back in it,” Wooldridge said. 'The atmosphere really lifted us.”

A crowd of nearly 900 watched as CPU built an 11-point first-half lead. But Marion (16-5, 11-3), which could have earned a title share with a victory, chipped away and tied it at 35-35 by the end of the third quarter.

The Indians took their first lead at 37-35 when Mia Laube scored after Michalyn Mohr's steal and dish, and the lead grew to five points on two occasions.

'We were pretty confident we could come back,” said Marion Coach Corby Laube. 'Once we settled in, we were all right.”

The last four minutes, though, belonged to the Stormin' Pointers. LaMia Sisk scored in transition to tie it at 44-all. Amanda Sahm's basket put Marion back in front, but Olivia Brecht scored on a runner from the heart of the lane to make it 46-46 with a minute to play.

That left the rest to Wooldridge, a junior with a strong body and soft hands.

She hit the second of two free throws to give CPU the lead at 47-46 with 39 seconds left. She nailed two more after rebounding a Sahm miss at the 25-second mark.

Marion freshman Chloe Rice had two good looks from long distance on the Indians' final possession. Wooldridge grabbed the rebound after the second miss, then put the game away with two more foul shots with 0.9 seconds left.

'For a while, we didn't play very good defense,” said CPU Coach Philip Klett. 'But we got the stops when we needed them at the end.

'This is a tough conference. Any time you come out on top, it's an honor.”

Most likely, this is just the beginning of a budding rivalry of two programs on the rise. Both teams started three freshmen Tuesday.

Two of the ninth-graders - Brecht and Allie Wooldridge - complemented Arika Wooldridge with 10 points and eight points respectively. Two others - Rice and Laube - paced Marion with 16 and 14.

Sahm and Mohr added eight apiece for the Indians. Mohr grabbed nine boards.

'We thought things were starting to go in our favor,” Mohr said. 'But some little things here and there went their way at the end.”

CENTER POINT-URBANA 51, MARION 46

At Center Point

MARION (46): Chloe Rice 6-19 3-4 16, Caitlyn Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Amanda Sahm 3-9 2-5 8, Michalyn Mohr 4-6 0-0 8, Mia Laube 6-9 2-4 14, Jozee Peyton 0-2 0-0 0, Tessa Jordan 0-0 0-0 0, Isabella Sade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 7-13 46.

CENTER POINT-URBANA (51): Allie Wooldridge 4-8 0-0 8, Payton Hasleiet 1-7 0-0 2, LaMia Sisk 2-5 1-2 5, Olivia Brecht 4-5 1-2 10, Arika Wooldridge 7-16 8-9 24, Sydney Boevers 0-1 0-0 0, Raegan Dufoe 1-1 0-0 2, Claire Holtz 0-0 0-0 0, Claire Chandler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-45 10-16 51.

Halftime: CPU 26, Marion 16. 3-point goals: Marion 1-9 (Rice 1-6, Smith 0-3), CPU 3-9 (Al.Wooldridge 0-1, Hasleiet 0-1, Brecht 1-1, Ar.Wooldridge 2-4, Boevers 0-1, Chandler 0-1). Team fouls: Marion 13, CPU 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Marion 26 (Mohr 9), CPU 39 (Ar.Wooldridge 15). Assists: Marion 6 (Sahm, Laube 2), CPU 8 (Al.Wooldridge, Brecht 3). Steals: Marion 9 (Rice 3), CPU 2 (Al.Wooldridge, Brecht). Turnovers: Marion 5, CPU 12.

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