Central Catholic falls at semi-state to Fort Wayne Canterbury

CROWN POINT, Ind. (WLFI) - A year removed from winning three regular season games, the Central Catholic lady Knights quest for a trip to the state finals came to an end on Saturday.

Class 1A No. 1 ranked Fort Wayne Canterbury put Central Catholic away early on it’s way to a 74-50 victory.

“Nobody wants to lose but I couldn't have asked for a better group of girls and a better coaching staff through the entire season. There is nothing to hang our heads about, we never gave up and we fought through it and left everything on the court,” said senior guard Alanna Roswarski.

The Lady Knights held their own early on and even had a momentary lead before the Cavaliers went on an 18-2 run that put the game out of reach for good.

Central Catholic made a second half run and cut Canterbury's lead to 11 but that's as close as Central Catholic would get.

“I'm extremely proud of those girls. I'm never going to forget those friendships that i made. The coaches never gave up and they were there for us through everything. I think that is the greatest thing about our team is that we all love each other and I'm extremely proud of these girls and this season,” said Alanna Roswarski.

Junior forward Emily Denhart and senior forward Alanna Roswarski led the way for the Knights. Denhart finished with a team high 18 points and 7 rebounds. Playing in her last game in a CC uniform, Alanna Roswarski finished with 14 points.

“Being a junior I'm really happy I have one more season left. A lot of the players are returning with me so hopefully we build from this, learn from it and come out even stronger next year,” said junior guard Emily Denhart.

Canterbury (24-3) advances to its fifth state finals in six years. The Crusaders have won four of the last five state championships. Central Catholic, making its first semistate appearance since 2006, finished 17-10.