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FORT WAYNE – The Canterbury Lady Cavaliers made it three in a row in winning Class A Girls Basketball Titles, as they defeated state final nemesis Vincennes Rivet 69-65 Saturday morning at Fort Wayne's War Memorial Coliseum. The second-ranked Lady Cavaliers (25-2) won its third consecutive state championship, including the last two against the Lady Patriots (26-1).
The Lady Cavaliers won the game in the paint and at the foul line, outscoring Rivet 40-24 inside the box, while draining 14 of 17 free throws in the final quarter. Senior Tabitha Gerardot led a trio of double-digit performers for Canterbury, pouring in a game-high 27 points, while teammates Cassie Kreiger and Paige Wells added 14 and 10 points, respectively.
“I am just so thrilled in winning the state title again,” Tabitha Gerardot said. “To win it three years in a row is amazing. My teammates and I all worked so hard for this. It is neat that we could do it in our home area.”
Rivet jumped out to a 13-8 first quarter lead and a 25-23 advantage at the break. That’s when Gerardot and Canterbury took over. The Lady Cavaliers started the second half on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good, and when the third quarter dust had settled Canterbury lead by four points at 44-40. Both teams tallied 25 fourth quarter points. Each time Rivet made a charge, Canterbury answered it.
“It’s just an amazing, exhilarating feeling,” Canterbury Head Coach Scott Kreiger said. “To win it three times in a row and especially to share it with these kids, our coaches, our school and community is a great feeling.”
“We got beat by a very good basketball team today,” Rivet Head Coach Tim Young said. “Tabitha Gerardot is just an unbelievable force. There length gave us problems all day.”
Canterbury 69, Vincennes Rivet 65
VINCENNES RIVET (26-1): Wehrheim 2-6 1-2 5; Montgomery 2-7 0-0 4; Meeks 3-14 11-12 18; C. Brocksmith 7-14 0-0 14; Young 5-11 0-0 15; Finch 0-0 0-0 0; V. Brocksmith 0-0 0-0 0; Niehaus 2-2 0-0 4; Tucker 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-60 13-16 65.
CANTERBURY (25-2): Kreiger 4-13 5-5 14; Moyle 2-9 2-2 6; Gerardot 8-13 11-13 27; Pedro 3-8 2-4 8; Wells 4-8 1-2 10; Sekar 0-0 0-0 0; Farley 1-2 2-2 4; Troxel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 23-28 69.
Score by quarters:
Vincennes Rivet 13 12 15 25 –65
Canterbury 8 15 21 25 –69
3-Point Goals–Vincennes Rivet 6-15 (Wehrheim 0-1, Meeks 1-4, Young 5-10); Canterbury 2-9 (Kreiger 1-4, Gerardot 0-2, Pedro 0-2, Wells 1-1).
Fouled Out–Young. Rebounds–Vincennes Rivet 37 (Keller 10); Canterbury 34 (Gerardot 12). Assists–Vincennes Rivet 14 (Young 4); Canterbury 13 (Pedro 5).
Total Fouls–Vincennes Rivet 22, Canterbury 13.
A–N/A.
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