AFFTON – Two weeks ago, Cor Jesu senior Roz Doherty would rather have the floor beneath the foul line swallow her up than be forced to shoot free throws to decide an overtime playoff game.
“I was the worst free throw shooter on the team, by far,” Doherty said.
She spent hours during and after practice working with assistant coach Mike Sawyers, who gave her a simple mantra to follow.
“Less arc, back of the rim,” she said.
Doherty drained eight free throws in overtime, part of a game-high 19-point effort as the Chargers defeated conference rival Ursuline 56-50 in a Class 6 District 1 semifinal Wednesday at Cor Jesu.
Cor Jesu (22-5), a state semifinalist the past two seasons, advanced to play Jackson (25-1) for the Class 6 District 1 championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Cor Jesu in a rematch of last year’s district title game. Jackson defeated Kirkwood 65-27 in the other semifinal.
“That’s how I would want it. You don’t want it to be easy,” Doherty said. “Play them again, on our home floor on Friday. I think that’s so fun.”
The district semifinal was quite enjoyable for the Chargers at the outset. Cor Jesu forced turnovers on three consecutive Ursuline possessions and senior Lauren Ortwerth caught fire, converting a basket on the interior, a transition three and a breakaway layup to give the Chargers a quick 11-1 lead.
“Definitely not the start we wanted,” Ursuline coach Jeff Stevens said.
Ursuline changed to a 2-3 zone and successfully slowed down the high-tempo Chargers. When Ortwerth picked up her second foul and headed to the bench early in the second quarter, the Bears went on the attack.
Interior baskets by Ursuline senior Evelyn Shane and excellent bench contributions from sophomore Alaina Vilela and freshman Emma Salviccio sliced into the double-digit deficit. When Salviccio beat the halftime buzzer with a breakaway layup, Ursuline trailed only 23-19 at intermission.
“Give them credit. They did a really good job of knowing what we do best and taking that away,” Cor Jesu coach Andrew Althage said. “We had prepared for zone, we knew it was coming, and it did stall us out more than we thought it would.”
Shane missed 10 games due to injury in January, which allowed young players like Vilela and Salviccio to develop their games through increased playing time.
“Everyone really improved during that time and I think that helped us tonight,” Stevens said. “We got a little extra out of everyone and those two really stepped up in the moment. I’m proud of how we kept fighting.”
A three-point play by Salviccio and a pair of free throws by junior Abby Walsh, who had been held scoreless up to that point, gave Ursuline its first lead, 40-39, with four minutes remaining in regulation.
Ortwerth, who had been on the bench with four fouls, reentered the game.
“It could have been my last game, and when I came back in, I was going do everything in my power to help us win,” said Ortwerth, who finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Ortwerth quickly scored four points to give Cor Jesu a 43-40 lead, but in the final minute, a Vilela three-point shot bounced off the front rim, soared skyward and then dropped into the hoop to tie the game.
Cor Jesu held the ball for the final shot, but Izzy Rohr’s corner three and Doherty’s putback did not fall at the end of regulation, and the game went to overtime.
“We knew if we could get a lead in overtime, we would take control, and it was ours,” Althage said.
Doherty granted Cor Jesu that lead with a made free throw and junior Maddie DiMaria stole the ensuing inbounds pass. An Ortwerth blocked shot led to a Rohr short jumper, and after a series of hustle plays, the Chargers had seized control.
“In practice, we go all out. We’re diving for balls. We like to say, ‘We’re the hardest team we’re going to play against all year.’ We prepared each other for a game like this,” Ortwerth said.
Even when Doherty missed a free throw, she hustled to get her own rebound, drew another foul and returned to the spot she dreaded just two weeks earlier.
“Coach (Mike) Sawyers really built Roz’s confidence back up in her (foul) shot. We told him, ‘You get some credit for this win tonight,’” Althage said.
In her last six games, Doherty has now made 19 free throws. Through her first 18 games, she made just 17 free throws and shot them at a 36.9 percent success rate.
“If you would have asked anyone on the team two weeks ago who would be making free throws at the end of the game, it would not have been me,” Doherty said.
Cor Jesu will need to be sharp in all facets Friday to defeat a Jackson team with only one loss and that just defeated a team by a margin of 30-plus points for the 18th time this season.
“This is what we circled. This is the matchup we knew were going to get, and we’re pumped that it’s on our home floor. It’s going to be a challenge, but these girls are ready,” Althage said.
For a photo gallery from this game, click on this link: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2023-24-Girls-Basketball/Girls-Basketball-2025-26/Ursuline-at-Cor-Jesu-C6D1-semis