Luehmann Leads With 15 Points, Webb Becomes Second Griffins Player To Top 1,000 Career Points As McGivney Advances To Sweet Sixteen

CENTRALIA - Charlize Luehmann led Father McGivney Catholic with 15 points, and a pair of free throws with 13.7 seconds left made Madison Webb the second McGivney player this season to hit 1,000 career points as the Griffins advanced to its first-ever IHSA Sweet Sixteen with a 57-39 win over Carrollton in the first semifinal of the Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran Class 1A sectional Monday night at the COR gym.

The Griffins got out to a great start against the Hawks, jumping out to a 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, then turning back Carrollton when it seemed the Hawks were about to go off on a run.

"We played really well," said Griffins' head coach Jeff Oller. "We came out really quick in the first quarter, which was really huge. It was a really tight game after the first quarter."

It was a 13-2 run that ended early in the second quarter that made the score 26-10 for the Griffins, and turnovers hurt the Carrollton cause. The Hawks turned the ball over 23 times in the game, and couldn't come within single digits the rest of the game.

"Carrollton started beating our press and got out into transition," Oller said. "There were a number of times they were threatening runs, but the girls stepped up and made some stops."

The Griffins then clinched the game at the free-throw line, going 11-for-12 late in the game, and 17-for-21 overall.

Webb ended up with 14 points to get to exactly 1,000 points in her career with McGivney, joining Anna McKee as the first two players to reach that milestone. McKee ended with nine points on the evening, with both Macy Hoppes and Rachel Maller scoring five points, Riley Zumwalt had four, Mariah Starnes three points and Alexis Bond two.

The Hawks were led by Libby Mueth, who had 14 points, while Ava Uhles added 12.

The Griffins advance to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen, and Oller is very proud of his team for the achievement.

"It was an exceptional effort," Oller said. "The girls played four hard quarters. It's very exciting. I'm happy for the girls, with all the work they put in to get us here."

The Hawks end their season at 22-7, while the Griffins are now 26-7 and advance to their first sectional final, where they'll play the winner of Tuesday's second semifinal between the host Silver Stallions and Jacksonville Routt Catholic, the state's fourth-ranked team in the latest Associated Press statewide poll, Thursday night in the final. Both games tip-off at 7 p.m.

"We'll have to be ready to go against either team," Oller said.Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.

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