Saxony speed, aggression upend Woodland in FSCB quarterfinal rout

Saxony Lutheran got a rare hosting opportunity in a First State Community Bank Holiday Classic quarterfinal on Sunday evening, and the No. 3 Crusaders made the most of it with a furious 63-24 victory against sixth-seeded Woodland.

Advancing to a semifinal against No. 2 Jackson, the Crusaders made sure to capitalize on their home bid with a slurry of turnovers against a smaller Woodland team.

Opening its tourney run on the right foot, Crusaders coach Chris Crawford guided his squad to a big opening win to kickstart Saxony’s loaded tournament slate despite the team being slightly out of its comfort zone early.

“We played an overall complete basketball game,” Crawford said. “We were in foul trouble in the first quarter early, so we got out of things that we usually like to do. We like to press a lot and like to fly around, but we weren't able to do that.

“They responded really well. They know their job. They know that just because we're backing out of the press doesn't mean that we're not being physical and aggressive in our defense. I was happy with that effort.”

Evie Caruso got things started early with a hard and-1 finish to push the Crusaders out to an early edge. While the Cardinals limited the success of Saxony’s offense early, Woodland’s frequent turnovers limited how much success its defense could bring it.

Becca Johnson’s back-to-back triples late in the first put the Crusaders up eight, and they rode the wave to finish the first quarter with a 20-9 lead.

Immediately after knocking down another and-1, Caruso exited after picking up her third foul as the “E-Train” plowed into Woodland’s Rhodie Long, drawing a charging foul with five minutes remaining in the second period to send the 6-foot-1 senior back to the bench.

Regardless, the Crusaders continued to fight and built themselves up to an impressive 35-14 lead going into the locker room. Fighting through losing their leading scorer, the team stepped up to the occasion and battled past a scrappy Woodland squad.

“She's super important,” Crawford said on Caruso. “But, you know, when we had to bring her out, we performed just as well. That's kind of a testament to all the other girls. Evie is the first one cheering for them when she isn't on the floor. She's a phenomenal leader.”

Back for the third quarter, Caruso continued to use her verticality to limit the Cardinals’ inside game, and the Crusader offense just trickled onto its already looming lead to carry a 52-18 lead into the fourth quarter.

On the backs of some strong guard play and a steady offensive output, Saxony cruised to a 63-24 win to move one step closer to a Holiday Classic title.

Caruso’s 19 led all scorers, 11 of which came in the second half as the Crusaders iced out a big win. Becca Johnson (12) and Abby Haley (10) both made additional double-digit scoring contributions.

Mallary Barks’ 8 points scored led the way for Woodland, scoring four 2-point field goals across the first three quarters.

Now 1-0 in the Holiday Classic, the Crusaders have their sights set on a championship bid with a semifinal bout with second-seeded Jackson on Monday night.

Taking to the Show Me Center mainstage, Saxony’s work is cut out but the win is within reach as they pick up the pieces from a dominant quarterfinal win and face off with a talented yet shorthanded Jackson squad.

“We watched Jackson play today, and they've got athletes all over the floor,” Crawford said. “They've got basketball players with high IQ. We're gonna have to be able to handle the pressure on that bigger floor and make sure that we take care of the basketball.

“Jackson's well-coached. They're a great program. It's going to be a heck of a matchup for us.”