The 6,083 fans who turned Redbird Arena into a March Madhouse Friday came to see the two best teams in Class A.
Nobody went home disappointed as No. 1-ranked Carthage edged No. 2 Teutopolis 44-41 in a showdown that was close the entire fourth quarter. Defending champion Carthage (30-1) faces No. 3 Gibson City (28-1) Saturday in the semifinals.
“I was scared,” Carthage’s Tiffany Carl said. “We’ve never had to come from behind. If we were going to pull this one out, we had to dig very deep within and play with our hearts.”
Carl’s skip pass with 46 seconds left set up Kim Jacob for the winning three-point play.
Five-time state champion Teutopolis (28-2) led by nine points in the second quarter and by eight after three. Then Teutopolis lost its grip.
Kia Toubekis’ two free throws with 1:54 left let Carthage tie the game at 40. Gina Bloemer’s free throw with 1:11 on the clock gave Teutopolis the lead until Jacob’s play with :44 left.
Sarah Probst led Teutopolis with 21.