St. Thomas Aquinas girls win opener at Kansas 5A basketball state tournament

Once the St. Thomas Aquinas girls basketball team shook off first-quarter jitters, the Saints had no problems beating Emporia 56-34 Wednesday in a Kansas Class 5A state quarterfinal at the Kansas Expocentre.

In the opening minutes, Aquinas could not get a shot to fall. The Saints fell behind 8-2. But by the time the first quarter ended, No. 1 Aquinas had closed its deficit to 10-9 and had momentum.

Junior Allison Koster helped spark the Saints’ offense in the second quarter. Her nine points, including a three-pointer, gave Aquinas a 24-20 halftime lead.

“Every time you come out to the Expocentre, there is a big crowd and everyone is nervous. But once we got going, the team really brought it together,” said Koster, who finished with 14 points. “The second quarter we settled down. We realized we needed to get loose balls and we needed to play good defense. Defense was what was going to get us ahead.”

Aquinas took complete control in the third quarter, outscoring Emporia 16-8. The domination continued into the fourth quarter. Emporia could not stop the up-tempo offense or the inside play of 6-foot-3 senior center Claire Ferguson, who finished with 12 points.

Early in the fourth quarter, Aquinas built a 49-28 lead and could breathe easier. The Saints (21-2) will play Blue Valley Southwest in a semifinal matchup at 3 p.m. Friday.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 5:24 PM with the headline "St. Thomas Aquinas girls win opener at Kansas 5A basketball state tournament."