The Padua Lady Bruins finished off an impressive 2016-17 North Coast League run, defeating Archbishop Hoban, 57-48, to win the conference title.
The Bruins were led by 23 points from senior guard Elena Rauhe, who was in a groove from start to finish, scoring 12 points in the first quarter.
Padua led by 14 after one quarter, but Hoban battled back to make it a one-point game at the half, thanks in large part to guards Emma Tecca and Rachel Chessar.
Some of Hoban’s run was attributed to the fact that Rauhe found herself in foul trouble in the second quarter and spent a portion of the period on the bench.
Tecca made big plays for Hoban all night, dishing out four assists in the contest.
Emma Tecca finds Megan Hutson to give Hoban its first lead of the night pic.twitter.com/GAzOFSKTwO
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Padua regained momentum midway through the third quarter, as Rauhe continued to shine, and other Bruins stepped up throughout the second half.
Elena Rauhe has 17 points
33-30 Padua 5 min left in 3rd pic.twitter.com/fj5RxRJvNK
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Senior guard Ali Medaglia knocked down two shots from long-range, scoring eight points on the night.
Ali Medaglia 3 gives Padua 39-34 lead late in 3rd pic.twitter.com/U8Dy3ZIp1y
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Rauhe’s non-stop hustle on defense gave Hoban fits all night, as she swiped four steals, creating transition baskets.
Elena Rauhe steal, fastbreak layup. She's up to 19 pts
43-36 Padua less than 30 sec left in 3rd pic.twitter.com/3d4CsMczn5
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Hoban seemingly had no answer for her all game long.
Elena Rauhe scores as time expires in 3rd quarter
45-37 @PaduaHoops
21 points for Rauhe pic.twitter.com/BMIj1IQ6iB
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Sophomore guard Alex Pillin knocked down three shots from long-distance, finishing with 9 points and four rebounds.
Alex Pillin knocks down her 3rd three of the night
48-37 Padua
6:18 to go pic.twitter.com/iJ4BcHwErf
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Alainna Conroy also played a huge role in the win, scoring nine points.
Rauhe finds Alainna Conroy for 3
51-39 Padua pic.twitter.com/iIrqClmeNo
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Despite coming up short, Tecca kept Hoban in the game most of the way, leading the Knights with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Emma Tecca cuts it to a 10 pt game with just over 4 min to play pic.twitter.com/2Oe19qxMxA
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Chessar also made timely contributions for the Knights, scoring 11 in the losing effort.
Rachel Chessar makes it 55-46 with a difficult layup
3:22 remaining pic.twitter.com/XDJOHS4BOh
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Rauhe finished the game the way she started it, lifting the Bruins to victory.
Elena Rauhe makes it 57-46 with this steal + fastbreak layup
23 pts for Rauhe pic.twitter.com/kD8o88Znrg
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Along with Rauhe, Pillin, Conroy, and Medaglia, senior center Sarah Rapacz had a big night, grabbing 13 rebounds.
Rapacz had the unenviable task of defending forward Lanasia Brewer, but kept the sophomore from getting easy looks in the post.
It was an all-around team victory for the Bruins, who improve to 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the North Coast League.
@PaduaAthletics @PaduaHoops
The Lady Bruins are North Coast League Champs!!!!! pic.twitter.com/xoTuiDivJY
— Matt Medley (@MedleyHoops) February 14, 2017
Head coach Dan Brown could not have been more proud of his team.
“Day one when I was here, it was June two summers ago. We had open gym and I stood right here and pointed at that banner and said, ‘We’re adding a year to that banner. I don’t know when and I don’t know how,’ but now we can enjoy it,” Brown said.
The Bruins all stepped up in the biggest game of the season, but Rauhe’s 23 point performance was especially impressive, even for her usual great standards.
“Big time players make big time plays,” her coach said.
“She made big shots when she had to. She kept us under control when she had to, but this was just an unbelievable team effort.”
Rauhe was happy to do her part and credited her teammates’ contributions in the win.
“This is awesome, it’s the best feeling ever. 14 years waiting,” Rauhe said.
“It was just a group effort and we all came together.”
The Bruins can celebrate this moment and cherish the conference championship, dethroning their rival, which won back-to-back conference titles in 2015 and 2016, but Padua hopes to cross off new goals in the state tournament.
Padua opens up tournament play on Feb. 23 and will face the winner of Brooklyn vs. Buckeye in the Division II Elyria District quarterfinal.
Congratulations to the Bruins!
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