WEBSTER GROVES – From diving on the floor to crashing the boards, the sights and sounds of a Cor Jesu basketball practice are intense.
But one sound is rarely heard during a Chargers’ practice – a whistle – as few fouls are called during drills and scrimmages.
“It’s actually a hot topic,” senior Roz Doherty said. “We hit each other hard in practice and people get mad about it, but it’s good for us. You can’t rely on the foul.”
Lauren Ortwerth scored 27 points, most through contact, and a physical Cor Jesu team outmuscled Cardinal Ritter 60-49 in the opening round of the Webster Winter Challenge Tuesday at Roberts Gym.
Cor Jesu (15-1), which received 13 points from Roz Doherty and four 3-pointers from Maggie Ansley, won its eighth consecutive game.
The Chargers began the contest with ferocious perimeter pressure led by junior Maddie DiMaria, who earned three steals, two assists, and a breakaway layup in the opening quarter.
“Playing hard has been our mojo since day one. Put your head down and do the work, and if you do that, the results will come,” DiMaria said.
While DiMaria’s ferocity forced turnovers, it also produced two early fouls, and Cor Jesu played most of the second quarter with their engine sitting in park on the Chargers’ bench.
“We know if Maddie or anyone else has to come out of the game, the next person is going to have our back and play just as hard because we’ve pushed them to that potential in practice,” Ortwerth said.
Ortwerth owned the offensive glass, Doherty converted baskets in transition and Ansley hit her first of four triples as Cor Jesu opened a 26-16 lead late in the second quarter.
In the second half, Cardinal Ritter switched to a zone that flustered Cor Jesu at first. The Chargers were guilty of two 35-second shot clock violations on their first two possessions, and the Lions closed the deficit to 26-20.
“We’re not used to a shot clock, so going into the next game, we just have to be aware of it and make sure the bench is accountable of it,” Ortwerth said.
But every time Cardinal Ritter tightened the score, Cor Jesu had a response.
Ansley drained a corner three on the following possession to push the lead to nine points. After successive threes by Lions’ senior Shamya Jones, Ortwerth converted one of her five offensive rebound putbacks to widen the gap. Twice in the fourth quarter, Cardinal Ritter closed the deficit to 10 points, but Ansley and Doherty drained dagger threes on the subsequent possessions.
“I’m proud that they answered every run that (Cardinal Ritter) had. Once we stretched it out to a double-digit lead, we were able to secure that,” Althage said.
Ansley, the team leader in assists, drained four 3-pointers for the second time in her last five games.
“Maggie is always looking to dish, and we told her, ‘You have to put the ball in the hoop tonight,’ and she answered that.” Althage said.
Shamya Jones led Cardinal Ritter with 18 points and Madyson Ford added 15.
Cor Jesu, which reached the final four in Class 6 the previous two seasons, feels like it has more to prove after a pair of lackluster trips to Mizzou Arena. In 2024, the Chargers led only once, 5-4 against Kickapoo, during their two games at state. In 2025, they made only 13-of-37 free throws and again left the event winless.
“It’s not just getting there. You have to win games once you are there,” Doherty said. “Getting there and getting beat isn’t worse than not making it, but it’s embarrassing, honestly. People start saying you were in a bad district or you had an easy path to state if you lose by 20 when you get there.”
Despite the success of the past two seasons, Cor Jesu believes more needs to be accomplished before entering the conversation as an elite girls basketball program.
“We can be happy to play on the last day of the basketball season, but it will mean more if we play for first place or even get a win in the third-place game. That little bit more will put us at that next level,” Ortwerth said.
Althage added, “The mission is, ‘Ok, we know we can take care of business. Now we want to put our name up there – that Cor Jesu basketball is among the top in the state.”
And for the Chargers, that mission will be accomplished through toughness, relentlessness and the absence of whistles at practice.
“We go at it,” Ortwerth said. “We like to say we’re each other’s biggest competition, and we know by the way we play, we’re doing something right.”
For a photo gallery from this game, visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/2023-24-Girls-Basketball/Girls-Basketball-2025-26/Cardinal-Ritter-vs-Cor-Jesu-2-3-26