Class A, No. 11 Oldenburg Academy established a physical low post presence and overmatched Southwestern in a Sectional 60 quarterfinal contest Wednesday at Southwestern High School.

Sophomore center Rachel Suttmann scored a game-high 23 points, pulled down nine rebounds and added three assists, two blocks and one steal to advance the Twisters past the Spartans, 52-24.

Suttmann connected on 9-of-11 shots in the middle two quarters when Oldenburg Academy outscored Southwestern 29-12.

“You look at us, size wise they are bigger at every position. They are stronger at every position. And coach (David) Disbro knows what he is doing,” said third-year Southwestern head coach Jason West. “He is going to exploit us. We have a decent relationship and we’ve talked all week. I know what he is going to do and he knows what we are going to do.

“ There were no surprises. They just beat us doing what they do better than what we did.”

Kate Weber, one of three seniors on the Oldenburg Academy roster, finished with 15 points, four rebounds and two steals. 

Southwestern (3-20) entered the sectional averaging just under 30 points per game. The Spartans needed a fast start Wednesday to compete with the Twisters (18-4).

Weber had two quick steals and easy scores in transition to get Oldenburg Academy out to a 10-2 lead but Tanna Tatlock, Southwestern’s leading scorer this season, attacked the lane and scored and Riley Engel and Tatlock followed with successful 15-footers to keep the Spartans close at the first break, 12-8.

Suttmann was dominant in the low post once she got position established. She had 10 points in the second quarter to help the Twisters extend the lead to 28-11 by halftime. She hit all five of her field goal attempts in the third quarter and the lead grew to 41-20.

Tatlock, a junior, and sophomore Emma Isgrigg each scored seven points to lead Southwestern. Tatlock also had eight rebounds and three assists.

The pair will be key offseason building blocks for a basketball program that has won just nine games over the last two seasons.

“They played phenomenal,” said West. “We have to get Isgrigg more confidence. Shooters need to continue to shoot. You can’t let misses and things out of your control affect you.

“Tanna, we have to get her to finish. We can get her to the rim. Now we have to take that next step and get her finishing moves.”

West knows there are challenges ahead to build depth within the program.

“We have to have people come in and work,” he said. “We have our Advanced (Physical Education) class going. We’re getting stronger. We just have to buy in.

“We are building something. We just got to have everybody buy into it.”

 With the win, Oldenburg Academy returns to Southwestern Friday for a semifinal game against Morristown — a 67-54 winner over Waldron Wednesday in the second quarterfinal game. The Twisters defeated Morristown, 50-33, on Dec. 14.

In the first semifinal Friday, No. 8 Jac-Cen-Del (18-5) battles South Decatur (14-10), who defeated the Eagles 43-38 on Nov. 28.

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