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JACKSONVILLE - Four days removed from causing a minor earthquake in the state of Illinois, the Carrollton Lady Hawks were ready to take advantage of another great opportunity.
After defeating the No. 3 Routt Catholic Rockets, Carrollton earned a rematch with the Lebanon Greyhounds, the team who ended the Lady Hawks season last year. In 2019, Carrollton got the final say.
The Lady Hawks defeated the Greyhounds 44-22 in the Class 1A Jacksonville Routt Sectional Semifinals on Monday night behind a stellar defensive display.
“We knew we deserved to be here. These girls earned it, and they just showed tonight why they deserve to be here,” Carrollton head coach Blaine Hartwick said.
“It took a little bit to warm up. We attacked the basket hard, and we got [shots] to go. Unfortunately then in the fourth quarter, we tried to make it interesting because we stopped doing that, but we got them settled down. The seniors stepped up and got everybody back together.”
Marley Mullink carried her form over from Thursday and arguably played even better last night. Though, she admitted she’s bewildered to have gotten this far, Mullink is ultimately happy the Lady Hawks are still alive.
“It’s awesome. I’ve never been able to come this far. It’s just a dream come true for me,” Mullink said. “I was really surprised, actually, but I’m so grateful to be here. I love this sport, and I’m not ready for it to be over.”
Mullink scored a game-high 17 points but more importantly played a vital role in shutting down Lebanon’s top scorer Emily Reinneck.
“She is one of the best players I’ve ever had to play defense against,” Mullink said. “I knew I just had to stay on her and every time we could, double her so she couldn’t get a shot off.”
A 5-foot-8 senior, Reinneck came into the game averaging 18.5 points per game but was limited to 11 and shot 3-of-18 from the field. Her twin sister, Abigail, who averaged 11.3 per game, scored four points.
Limiting the Reinneck sisters was the defensive game plan for Carrollton.
Twenty-two is the lowest amount of points the Greyhounds have tallied in a game since February 11, 2009, against Bunker Hill in a 48-15 loss. As well as Carrollton defended them, even when they got open looks, Lebanon couldn’t get any to fall when they need them to. As a team, they shot 7-of-38 from the field. Carrollton also out-rebounded Lebanon 30-to-17. That’s mission accomplished according to Hartwick.
“That was the game plan,” Hartwick said. “It was attack them two and make the others beat us. We did it.”
The Greyhounds held a slim 2-0 lead for a bit in the first quarter until Hannah Krumwiede nailed a baseline three-pointer and a layup that put the Lady Hawks up for good. After two free throws by Emily Reinneck cut the deficit to 6-4, Carrollton would outscore Lebanon 13-4 through the rest of the half. Libby Meuth hit a contested short-range baseline shot just before the buzzer sounded to give the Lady Hawks a 19-8 halftime lead.
“Our margin for error is very, very small. We don’t have the luxury of having four or five people like we’ve been able to the last four years to knock down shots when we need them. We’ve got to give Carrollton credit,” Cruthis said. “We allowed 19 points,” Lebanon head coach Chad Cruthis said. “I said, girls, it’s the type of game we need. Unfortunately, we only scored eight.”
Carrollton extended their lead to 29-12 after scoring eight unanswered points as the fourth quarter approached. Lebanon would make one last run.
They implemented a half-court trap that had the Lady Hawks confused, which led to turnovers and points. The Greyhounds trimmed the lead down to 29-19 with under five minutes to play. Mullink stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws that ultimately started a 15-3 run that put away Lebanon for good.
No matter the outcome, this was going to be the last game Cruthis will coach for the Greyhounds.
His 14-year old son, Jackson, requires a second kidney transplant in 11 years. On Wednesday, Chad, is scheduled for an appointment at Saint Louis University Hospital. That’s where Cruthis will donate a kidney of his own to Jackson. Previously, Cruthis wasn’t cleared to donate to his son, but a month ago he was given the go ahead.
“When we didn’t know that I was going to be able to donate, there was probably a lot more anxiety because of worrying about what was going to come and who we were going to find,” Cruthis said. “The doctors finally cleared me; it actually gave me a sigh of relief to know that’s the best option. It kind of allowed me to go back to coaching and I can’t ask for better girls.”
When the Greyhounds existed their locker room onto the court for their pregame warmup, all the players wore gray t-shirts with the words “Team Jackson” on the back. That blew away Cruthis.
“I had no idea they were going to wear the T-shirts tonight. Me walking out, seeing them on the t-shirts, it's the highlight of the year," Cruthis said. "That tells me what kind of kids they are. They're going to be future leaders and role models and all those things we want our kids to be. They knew when I was having a good day; they knew when I was having a bad day, they knew when my son was having a bad day. It speaks volumes to the type of kids they are.”
Carrollton advances to the sectional finals and will play either the Triopia Trojans (23-6) or the Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran Silver Stallions (26-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“Coach Cruthis, I wish him the best of luck in the sacrifice that he’s making for his boy,” Hartwick said. “Those girls wanted to win for him, you could tell. They did everything they could to try and stop us.”
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