Senior Night Success! Lady Bulldogs Defeat Tolton Catholic 67-49
- RoMoAthletics
- Feb 13
- 5 min read
February 13th, 2026
With the Rolla Lady Bulldogs only have one senior on their roster, the Rolla 6th Man student section deemed it Mariah Watkins night. It was evident to everyone in the gym that it was Mariah Watkins night as she exploded for 12 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the first half to propel the Lady Bulldogs to a Senior Night victory over Tolton Catholic, 67-49.
What a Start!
You couldn’t ask for a more fitting start to the Senior Night game for the Lady Bulldogs and their lone senior, 5’8” guard Mariah Watkins. On the opening possession for the Lady Bulldogs, they kicked it up ahead to Watkins who gathered herself and pulled-up for a wing 3 point basket to open the scoring.
On the ensuing possession, Watkins showed why she is the single season steals record holder, when she picked the Trailblazer ball handler and raced to the basket for a steal and score. Watkins set the tone and the Lady Bulldogs followed.
The Lady Bulldogs were putting pressure on the Trailblazers, feeding off the energy of the crowd and the 6th Man. Fresh off a Monday game where they forced 30 turnovers against Waynesville, their intensity was having the same effect.
But it was only a matter of time before Tolton Catholic, who had averaged over 70 points in their last 5 games, was able to find their shot and as they settled down to handle the ball pressure, they were able to find open teammates at the 3 point line. Junior guard Ava Kotovsky was the recipient of those assists as she knocked down two 3’s in the quarter and 5 for the game on her way to a team high 16 points.
The Trailblazers battled back to close the gap to 3 with a minute left in the first period, trailing 15-18. But it was then that the Lady Bulldogs decided to snipe some long range shots of their own.
As Coach Charley Parker had the Lady Bulldogs work through their motion offense to try and find a good shot to stem the Trailblazer comeback, Watkins found 5’7” Fr guard Addy Deremo on the wing for a knock down 3. Another steal by the Lady Bulldogs gave them another possession and this time, 5’10” Fr forward Rylee Anderson stepped out to knock down a corner 3 to put the Lady Bulldogs up 24 to 15 at the end of one.
Slowly Building the Lead
The Lady Bulldogs continued their advantage in the second half, but the frenetic pace resulted in weary legs with both teams as the point production failed to match the intensity of the first period.
Watkins tallied another 8 points in the quarter on a mix of layups and mid-range jumpers and she was supported by 5'10” So guard Madison Hutton who finished the quarter with 4 points and 8 for the half. Hutton and her teammates continued to push the tempo and attack the rim, but were unable to finish or earn a trip to the free throw line.
The Lady Bulldogs did not shoot a free throw in the first half while the Trailblazers were 5 for 6 from the line. It was a surprising stat considering how physical of a game it was with bodies constantly hitting the ground - but when both teams are aggressive it is hard to make the calls.
The Lady Bulldogs enjoyed a double digit lead through the quarter heading into halftime with a 36 to 24 lead with Watkins nearly matching the Trailblazer point total on her own with 20.
Weathering the Storm
The Lady Bulldogs were not able to start off the second half the way they started the game managing only 6 points in the first 5 minutes of the quarter. Turnovers and missed layups combined with an increased level of intensity in the Trailblazer defense were impacting the flow of the offense.
The Trailblazers were not faring much better, but at the 4 minute mark they converted back-to-back steals resulting in a lay-up and a transition 3 cutting the lead to 5, 42-27 with 3:23 left in the 3rd quarter. Tolton Catholic hit 3 - 3’s in the quarter to turn the momentum in their favor in hopes of putting a damper on Senior Night.
A timeout by Coach Parker, didn’t necessarily settle the Lady Bulldogs down, but it did light a fire in their intensity. The Lady Bulldogs responded by attacking the rim and getting back-to-back “and-one” opportunities by Deremo and Hutton. The Lady Bulldogs pushed their lead back to 12 to enter the final quarter up 49 to 37.
The Trailblazers hit 3 more from beyond the arc in the 4th quarter to mount a comeback closing the Lady Bulldog lead to 51-44 with 3:30 left in the game. But it was Senior Night and the Lady Bulldogs would not let this game slip away.
Back-to-back steals by Hutton and Watkins leading to buckets took the wind out of their sails as Rolla finished the game on a 16 to 5 run defeating Tolton Catholic 67 to 49 to move to 14 and 9 on the season.
The Wrap Up
Fittingly, on Senior Night, the Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Watkins who finished with 22 after posting 20 in the first half. Hutton added 11 in the 2nd half giving her 19 for the game. Deremo was the third Lady Bulldog in double figures with 13 for the game and 10 of those coming in the second half.
Before the game they recognized the Senior Cheerleaders as well as Watkins. This year’s Senior Cheerleaders are Olivia Grisham, Carissa Ayres, Bernadette Cahill, Addy Toney, and Addison Watkins. Watch the interview with the Senior Cheerleaders on Inside the Huddle!
Next Up
Tuesday the 17th at Borgia (14-7) game time scheduled for 5:45pm
Part of a 4 game boys and girls night
Last year at home, Rolla Won 64-48
PPG: Rolla 59.1 vs Borgia 55.5
Points Allowed/Game: Rolla 52.2 vs Borgia 39.8
Common Opponents: Rolla Borgia
New Haven Win (56-21) Win (53-23)
STATS Rolla 67, Tolton Catholic 49
The individual scoring (FG-FT-TP):
Rolla (14-9): Hutton 8-3-19, Watkins 10-0-22, Fontenot 1-0-2, Deremo 4-3-13, Campbell 3-0-6, Anderson 3-0-7
Tolton Catholic (12-10): Wray 3-0-6, Ross 2-5-9, Kotovsky 6-0-16, Thompson 1-0-2, Stallo 1-0-3, Cox 4-1-13
The score by periods:
TEAM Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F
Rolla 24 12 13 18 67
Tolton Catholic 15 9 13 12 49
Comments