The Incarnate Word Academy girls basketball machine kept on rolling into the championship game of the Visitation Christmas Tournament.
The top-seeded Red Knights defeated No. 4 seed Cardinal Ritter 61-38 in the semifinals on Friday night to run its state-record winning streak to 137 games.
Incarnate Word has won the past six Visitation Tournament championships and 14 in the last 16 years. IWA took control of the game early with a smothering defense to take an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 36-14 lead at halftime.
Senior guard Nevaeh Caffey, an Indiana recruit, led the Red Knights with 20 points. IWA also got 18 points from 6’4” junior forward Nevaeh Lucious, with 15 of those coming in the first half.
Cardinal Ritter was led by junior Alanah Howard and freshman Trinity Jackson, who both scored 12 points. Jackson also scored 24 points in the Lions’ victory over Columbia Hickman in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Incarnate Word will meet Lift for Life in the championship game on Saturday night. Lift for Life, the No. 2 seed, defeated Troy 66-55 in the second semifinal game of the evening.
The Hawks put four players in double figures, led by sophomore forward Rian Lennox, who scored 20 points. Amaya Manuel scored 16 points while Zha Harris and Cara Manuel scored 11 points each.
Troy was led by 6’0” sophomore forward Ellie Moore, who scored a game-high 25 points. Junior guard Mya Robinson added 10 points.
The championship game between Incarnate Word and Lift for Life is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. It will be a battle of two state championship teams from last season. Incarnate Word won the Class 6 state championship last season while Lift for Life won the Class 4 state title.
Cardinal Ritter will face Troy in the third place game, which begins at 5 p.m.