Saxony Lutheran falls to St. Pius X in Class 3 quarterfinals

FESTUS - A stellar 2023-24 campaign by the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders came to an end with a 57-41 loss to the St. Pius X Lancers on Friday.

The Crusaders finished the season with a record of 19-9 before falling in the Class 3 quarterfinals.

“I’m super proud,” Crusaders coach Chris Crawford said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group. All season they heard they weren’t going to win their district, they weren’t going to go .500, they weren’t going to do all these things and they went out and did all those things. I think they opened some eyes and they were pretty dang good basketball players.”

Out of the gates, it was the Crusaders snatching early momentum as Evie Caruso reeled off six-straight points to begin that propelled Saxony Lutheran to a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.

With the three-point lead in hand, the Crusaders began the second quarter continuing to control the game, sustaining the lead up until the final minute of the half.

Leading 21-18, St. Pius closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a 26-21 halftime advantage despite a poor shooting half from three-point range.

“I think we just got a little bit rattled and went away from what we do,” Crawford said. “I think the run they went on to end the half really hurt us mentally and on the scoreboard.”

Both teams began the second half rather sloppy as they traded turnovers on their first two possessions.

Saxony was able to settle in first as they quickly cut the Lancers lead to 28-26, but a 7-0 burst forced Crawford to take a timeout with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.

Like they had done all night, the Lancers let it fly from three-point range as they expanded the lead to 40-26.

Saxony would get a layup from Maci Hollis to end the run and cut the lead to 40-28, where it stood entering the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders managed to put together a solid fourth quarter, but the third-quarter deficit was too much to overcome.

“In basketball, you have to hit shots,” Crawford said. “We just didn’t do that.”

The loss to the Lancers spells the end of the road for a talented group of seniors for the Crusaders including Evie Caruso, Rebecca Johnson, Maci Hollis, Annie Adams, Grace Ozark and Samantha Hope.

“They meant a lot,” Crawford said fighting back tears when asked about his senior group. “As a first-year head coach, you couldn’t ask for more than what they gave us. They were great leaders, they came to the gym and worked hard every day and they trusted us when everyone told them they can’t do a lot of things.”

With the win, the Lancers advance to the Class 3 semifinals where they will play at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 8, at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO.