Gators finish LIS Tournament as runner-up to Saints

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

After a dominant regular season, the Saint Gertrude Gators entered the postseason as a title contender entering the LIS Tournament.

The Gators (24-7) made it all the way to the championship game after a 70-25 victory over St. Catherine’s, though they fell short to a St. Anne’s-Belfield squad that hasn’t lost a single game in the VISAA this season in a 89-58 final.

The Gators were led by the usual suspects like seniors Erin Woodson and Sam Smith along with sophomore sniper Ava Fulkerson and emerging freshman talent Alexa Gillikin.

In the semifinals versus St. Catherine’s, Woodson was up to her usual highlight-reel antics, spreading the ball around with four assists, forcing stops on the defensive end with a team-leading five steals and two blocks, and, of course, putting up numbers on the scoreboard with a game-high 29 points. With her 11 rebounds she also achieved a double-double.

Sophomore Ava Fulkerson was second in scoring behind Woodson, a common pattern throughout the season for the Gators, with the guard shooting six-ofseven from the field for 18 points along with six rebounds.

The Gators leaped out to a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, with the Saints doing well to hang around early, but it wouldn’t be long before the Gators began the process of running away with the game. Early in the second, that process was in full swing with the Gators forcing a Saints timeout with a quick flurry of points. Woodson started things off with an accurate skip pass to Sam Smith in the corner, who drove and dished a bounce pass on a tight angle between defenders to freshman Gillikin.

Immediately after, Woodson jumped a pass on the other end of the floor and sprinted down the floor and finished with a strong layup through contact to make it a 20-11 Gators lead.

Woodson’s passing chops were on full display in that second quarter. Her best pass came when she grabbed a defensive rebound and did her best impression of an NFL quarterback with a deep ball to Smith, who earned a trip to the line.

By halftime, the Gators led 3013, looking ready to run away with the lead and into a spot in the LIS finals.

That lead extended to 47-17 at the end of the third quarter, and the Gators were able to cruise their way to a victory and a meeting with St. Anne’s-Belfied for a shot at the title.

STAB has been a rare pain in Saint Gertrude’s side this season, winning their first two matchups handily. In the third matchup, things were similarly in their favor thanks to a versatile roster that can go small and use all five players on the floor to create off the dribble.

The Saints opened with an 18-13 lead out of the first quarter, starting off on a 12-5 run in the opening minutes, though the Gators were able to keep the deficit manageable and finished with some momentum on a lastsecond layup from Fulkerson that was created by a Woodson outlet pass.

The lead continued to grow for the Saints, first at 13 points by the end of the first half and later to 23 by the end of the third quarter. They were able to make it a 30-point advantage, and captured an LIS title in the process.

These teams will likely meet again in the VISAA State Tournament coming up in March, which provides the Gators one more chance to get revenge over a talented Saints team vying for a state title to go with their LIS gold.