(Columbia, MO) The Central Lady Rebels wrap a thrilling run to the MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown as the second-place finishers, falling to Lift For Life Lady Hawks 75-57 in the championship game Thursday night.
Lift For Life forced 24 Central turnovers that resulted in 24 points from steals in the game. They also collected 18 offensive rebounds as a team and scored 25 points in second chance opportunities.
A 12-point burst by the Lady Hawks separated what was a two point game from 38-36 to 50-36 through the midway point of the third quarter. Lift For Life continued the attack in the third outscoring the Lady Rebels 30-13 in the period.
The Hawks were hounds on the boards collecting 35 rebounds in the championship victory, 16 of which were grabbed by Paige Fowler. Fowler ended the night with 12 offensive rebounds and 13 points.
Amaya Manuel paced Lift For Life shooters with 19 points, while Zha’Viara Harris tallied 18 points. Cara Manuel added 11 points and Diamond Polk scored all of her 10 in the second half.
The Central Lady Rebels were paced by senior Khloe Dischbein’s 24 points in the loss.
The senior group exiting the Lady Rebel program that includes Dischbein, Kinley Norris, Gracie Populis, Ella McClanahan, and Courtney Dortch won 96 games over the last four seasons, including two trips to the Final Four, a third-place finish (2023), and second- place finish (2024).