By Nick McClintock

BLOOMINGTON- A valiant effort came up short for Central Catholic Saturday night, as the Saints fell to Champaign St. Thomas More 71 to 67 at the State Farm Holiday Classic small school girls championship at the Shirk Center.

The Saints came out on fire, going on a 6-1 run to begin the game, but the Sabers cut into the early lead throughout the quarter, culminating with a buzzer-beating three pointer from  Randa Harshbarger that gave them their first lead of the game.

The second quarter was all Sabers as they never trailed and increased their lead to three points for a 36-33 halftime lead.

Central Catholic couldn’t get anything going in third quarter as well, as Champaign again increased their lead at one point to 9 points, and finished the quarter with a six point advantage.

The Saints showed that they wouldn’t go quietly as they rushed back to within three multiple times throughout the quarter. The Sabers continued to make just enough shots down the stretch however to give the number one seed the victory.

The Saints were led in scoring by Caroline Holt with 22, and Danielle Davis chipped in 20, as the Saints finish second in the 35^th annual State Farm Holiday Classic.

Danielle Davis and ____ were also named to the All-Tournament Team.