The Bruin girls basketball team started the new semester off in style Thursday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. RBHS defeated Columbus North (IN), 62-53 in the Coaches vs Cancer tournament, an event benefiting the furthering of cancer research.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 9-2 on the year and handed Columbus North (11-2) only their second loss of the season.
Photo by Morgan Berk
Junior Sophie Cunningham led the way for RBHS scoring a game high 23 points on 9-14 shooting. She also tallied eight assists, which was good for a new tournament record. Cunningham was joined in double figure scoring by senior Audrey Holt who finished with 12 points on 6-8 shooting despite playing with a busted lip she suffered early in the game.
“I was setting a screen for Sophie [Cunningham] early in the game,” Holt said describing her injury. “Sophie’s defender ran into me and her head hit me in the mouth. My tooth got knocked back a bit and I have a cut above my upper lip that goes all the way through to my mouth.”
With Holt sitting out for further evaluation, junior Cierra Porter made use of her time on the court by dominating the boards. Pulling down a tournament record 15 rebounds, she finished seven boards ahead of senior teammate Chayla Cheadle who recorded eight.
“It was really exciting to win against a team like Columbus North,” Porter said. “We haven’t played anyone as good as them since the beginning of our season. As far as the rebounding record goes, it’s cool but not nearly as significant as the win.”
Along with her players, RBHS head coach Jill Nagel was pleased with the individual performances but was more pleased with how her group has continued to play as a unit.
“Columbus North is a very good team with highly skilled and talented kids,” Nagel said. “We knew from scouting they had the potential to expose some of our weaknesses. At times they did but for the most part our players did a great job of limiting their opportunities. We followed the game plan including a strong rebounding performance and I think this game and the rest of our schedule will continue to challenge us and prepare us for district play.”
by Josh Ripley
