The Mercy Academy basketball team used a 3-point-shooting barrage to advance to a regional championship game for the seventh straight season.
Madi Woods, Sadie Zeisloft and Jessica Laemmle all had big nights from behind the arc to lead the Jaguars to a 76-55 victory over Pleasure Ridge Park on Wednesday in a semifinal of the Class Act Federal Credit Union Sixth Region Tournament at Valley.
Mercy finished 11 of 24 from behind the arc, as Woods (4 of 7), Zeisloft (3 of 3) and Laemmle (3 of 3) all shot it well.
“It’s not all about guarding just one player,” Jaguars coach Keith Baisch said. “Hopefully you have to guard our whole team, and that makes it difficult on our opponents.”
Laemmle scored 15 points to lead Mercy. Woods and Zeisloft both scored 14 points, and Josie Woods chipped in 11.
Carnethia Brown scored 18 points, Remi Jones posted 16 and Perri Mitchell chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds for PRP.
Mitchell’s 3-pointer pulled the Panthers within 44-37 with 6:31 left in the third quarter before Mercy began to pull away.
Laemmle scored eight points during a 15-6 run, which was capped by a Zeisloft basket that made it 59-43 at the 1:17 mark. PRP never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
Led by Zeisloft, Mercy’s reserves outscored PRP’s 26-0.
“That’s the cool thing about our team is that somebody’s going to have a big, big night,” Zeisloft said. “We had a lot of points off the bench tonight, and that’s what we’re going to need going into the regional championship.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.
PRP 16 16 14 9 – 55
MERCY 23 19 20 14 – 76
PRP (22-9) – Pugh 1, Jones 16, Saunders 6, Brown 18, Mitchell 14.
Mercy (22-11) – Reese 2, Schmitz 2, Zeisloft 14, Berger 2, J. Woods 11, Muss 7, M. Woods 14, Laemmle 15, Muthler 1, Feldkamp 8.
3-point goals – Jones 2, Mitchell 2; Zeisloft 3, J. Woods, M. Woods 4, Laemmle 3.
