Ella Teel sank two free throws with 3.5 seconds left to give Ridgewood a 58-56 win over Princeville on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and help the Spartans clinch an outright Lincoln Trail Conference regular season title.
The win for the Spartans (26-2, 9-0) avenges a championship game loss to Princeville in the LTC Tournament last month.
“The conference title was one the girls’ team goals,” Ridgewood coach Bryan Brooks said. “We lost to Princeville and we thought it was nice to go there and get a win. We came in ready for a game. We are real happy.”
Ridgewood led 20-18 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead out to 32-28 at the half. Princeville answered in the third quarter by outscoring the Spartans 14-9 and took a one-point lead (42-41) heading into the final quarter.
Stephanie Williams led Ridgewood with 23 points and Jena Peterson added 12.
The Princesses were led by Leah Whittaker with 26 points.
“The last time we played them we had a bad third quarter,” Brooks said. “It came down to every possession throughout the game. In the end we took care of the ball better than them.”
