Lady ‘Cats ride Pauley’s 36, first-half buzzer beater, to GRC title win against St. Joseph Christian

Milan senior Cady Pauley, battling double and triple-teams throughout Saturday night’s Grand River Conference girls championship game, scored a game-high 36 points, including a dramatic 75-foot three-point shot to beat the first-half buzzer, in a 70-63 victory against the St. Joseph Christian Lions, in action heard on KTTN FM 92.3.

Just eight days after losing to the Lions on the very same court, by double digits, Milan started the title game strong, jumping out to an early advantage, although Christian closed the advantage to 16-13 after one quarter.  The early portion of the second quarter was dominated by the GRC West champions, with the Lions taking a double-digit lead, before the Lady ‘Cats found a surge in the late goings off of the half to quell momentum.  Pauley’s long-distance one-handed heave cut the halftime lead to 39-36, with Tom Johnson on the call on KTTN: 

Pauley’s momentum seizing shot slowed down a Lions team led by sophomore guard Chloe Burnham, who scored 19 of her 29 points in the second quarter.  Pauley, in that same quarter, kept Milan within striking distance, scoring 15 points of her own.

The third quarter was controlled by the Lady ‘Cats, outscoring Christian 18-12 to gain a 54-51 lead.  However, the Lions refused to go away, and had a five-point lead heading into the late stages of the fourth quarter, before Milan put made baskets and defensive stops together to rally for another GRC title.  Senior forward Auburn Cole extended the lead from just one point to four points with a clutch three-point play with 20 seconds to go: 

Just moments later, Pauley’s 35th and 36th points of the game, on a rebound off of a free-throw miss, clinched the conference title for the Lady ‘Cats: 

While Milan rode Pauley’s brilliance to the win, the GRC champs received solid contributions from Cole, who finished with 13 points, and Avery Pickering, with four baskets and rock-solid 4-of-4 free throw accuracy adding up to 11 points.

St. Joseph Christian, a squad without a senior on the roster, had 29 points from Chloe Burnham, with Lexi McDaniel adding 19.

The GRC boys championship game went to the Stanberry Bulldogs, rallying from an early game deficit to take Putnam County to overtime, and winning in the extra session 50-49.

Other results from Saturday’s GRC Showcase at Milan High School were: 

8th Place:

GIRLS: Gallatin 46, Albany 30 

BOYS: Trenton 45, North Harrison 35 (Bulldogs first win of the season) 

7th Place: 

GIRLS: Putnam County 47, Worth County 27

BOYS:  Princeton 57, King City 38

6th Place: 

GIRLS:  Maysville 26, North Harrison 13

BOYS:  Pattonsburg 48, South Harrison 41

5th Place: 

GIRLS:   South Harrison 33, King City 18 

BOYS:  Worth County 62, Polo 39

4th Place: 

GIRLS:  Polo 46, Stanberry 26

BOYS:  Milan 48, Albany 47

3rd Place:  

GIRLS:  Trenton 32, North Andrew 28

BOYS:  Maysville 55, St. Joseph Christian 45

2nd Place:

GIRLS:  Princeton 51, Pattonsburg 46

BOYS:  North Andrew 62, Gallatin 53

The HDC Conference finished its 2022 tournament on Saturday afternoon at Gilman City High School, with the Gilman City boys beating Mercer for third place, 45-34.  The championship hardware went to both #1 seeds, as the Mercer girls cruised past Tri-County, 50-27, while the Winston boys shutdown Grundy R-V, winning 48-29.  Zack Cross led the Panthers in defeat with 10 points.

Scores from earlier games in the HDC Tournament were: 

Girls Consolation:
East Harrison 46 Grundy County 37

Boys Consolation:
Tri-County 50 East Harrison 46

Girls 3rd Place:
Winston 55 Gilman City 45

Girls Pool A: 

Mercer 60, Winston 44

Winston 41, Grundy R-V 37

Mercer 66, Grundy R-V 18

Girls Pool B: 

Tri-County 64, Gilman City 44

Gilman City 55, East Harrison 31

Tri-County 57, East Harrison 39

Boys Pool A:

Gilman City 55, Tri-County 37

Winston 70, Gilman City 33

Winston 75, Tri-County 21

Boys Pool B:

Mercer 59, East Harrison 50

Grundy R-V 76, East Harrison 41

Grundy R-V 56, Mercer 38