1A
Borden down 13; comes back with “miracle run” to win state title
By: John Lawrence Grever and Shawn Martin
In a state game this is what every coach dreads; being down 13 early to a team that never lays off the pressure. This is what Borden faced early through the 2nd Quarter when Lafayette Central Catholic went on an 8-0 run hitting 2 threes and building a 25-12 run after leading 17-12 after the 1st Quarter.
That is all the history books wrote for the knights in this game. The rest was for Borden. After Borden called a time out with 6:06 left in the 2nd Quarter, Central Catholic was unable to score the rest of the Quarter. 2 threes where hit by Borden and before the media time out the Braves closed the gap to 25-16 with 3:54 left in the 2nd Quarter. After the media time out it was all Borden adding another 8 points to end the half. Central Catholic still has 25 points but Borden closes the lead to 1 with 24 points. Lafayette Central Catholic Knights lead at the break 25-24.
The third quarter is the same story. The Borden Braves came out on fire and continued their superior scoring run of 11 more points. With the second and third quarters combined the Braves went on a run of 23-0 and with Carley Barrett’s basket plus a foul shot at 4:25 in the 3rd Quarter for the Knights the bleeding stopped but the damage was done. Borden now leads 35-28. LCC was able to trade baskets for the rest of the third and 4th quarter, but unable to mount a comeback. Borden not only overcomes the deficit but sets a state championship record for coming back from 13 down to win.
Borden wins Class 1A Girl’s State Championship Basketball over Lafayette Central Catholic 49-40. For Borden leading scorers are Riley Rarick with 16 and Ava Wheeler with 13, for Central Catholic Grace Bordenet with 11. Sophie Royer win’s the mental attitude award for Lafayette Central Catholic in class 1A.
2A
South Knox Diffuses the Bombers
By: John Lawrence Grever and Shawn Martin
It is nice when the stars align and the IHSAA’s (Indiana High School Athletic Association) format gives us a “true” 1 vs. 2 for the state title in the championship game. The stadium was full; the crowd was electric, and the hype of the game is all that it lived up too.
South Knox and Rensselaer started the game in a who wants to take control first. Both teams were trying to figure out each other’s defense and the score was not budging off of the 0-0 set for around 3 minutes, then both teams tested the defense and each scored a bucket. We went into the media time out 2-2 for the 1st quarter media time out.
South Knox like any great “Spartans” always do combat as a group and that has been the storyline all year and in the championship game. The Hill Sister’s (Bren and Kendal), along with Grace Detweiler, provided defensive pressure and caused havoc to Rensselaer on both ends of the court.
In the first quarter, after the slow start of 2-2 when the media time-out was called South Knox lead after that quarter 13-6. Then at half time they continued to stretch the lead and lead 26-13 over the Bombers from Rensselaer. In the third quarter, Rensselaer was able to cut the lead to 10 at the media time out, the Spartans came out and made a splash and opened up the lead to 15 (38-23).
Rensselaer lost the battle among the top 2 team in the arena of gladiators, but South Knox like any good teams just had “too many weapons” to defeat the Bombers.
South Knox wins Class 2A Girl’s State Championship Basketball over Rensselaer 55-33. For South Knox leading scorers are Kendall Hill with 16, Bren Hill with 14 and Grace Detweiler with 12, for Rensselaer Kamri Rowland with 10. Taylor Van Meter win’s the mental attitude award for Rensselaer in class 2A.
3A
NORWELL ENDS GREENSBURG’S PERFECT SEASON WITH DEFENSE
By: John Lawrence Grever and Shawn Martin
The saying always goes defense wins championships. This is a saying that will go down in the history books following this program’s first state championship. The stars came out and both teams played under their offensive average, but the Norwell Knights did something that Greensburg Pirates were not ready for. This was and is the fundamental foundation of basketball.
NO, it was not shooting…both teams shot in the 30% most of the game. Norwell only averages 38% shooting from the field during the season, so this was not the fundamental part of basketball. It was defense, Norwell first held a 50% shooting Pirate team to 31% during the game from the field and on top of that forced 19 turnovers compared to 7 turnovers from the Knights. This is what kept the game close but also helped Norwell gain confidence that if they play defense, everything else will fall into place.
Through the first 3 quarters the game was a back-and-forth game due to Norwell getting out rebounded early and the teams trading shot for shot and in Norwell’s case, a rebound for a turnover. The 4th quarter saw Norwell capitalize on 4-5 back-to-back turnovers that caused the lead to increase to 6-7 points. This lead then stayed constant throughout the rest of the game. An interesting note, once the lead got to 6 points, Greensburg did not commit another turnover.
Norwell wins Class 3A Girl’s State Championship Basketball over Greensburg 53-44. For Norwell leading scorers are Vanessa Rosswurm with 17, Addison Norris with 16 and Macie Saalfrank with 13, for Greensburg Leah West with 17 and Claire Larrison with 13. Leah West wins the mental attitude award for Greensburg in class 3A.
4A
The Clash of the Cats
By: John Lawrence Grever and Shawn Martin
The rumble in the jungle has a sequel and it just so happens to happen on the 50th anniversary of girls’ state final basketball. It is not a boxing match in Africa, but instead a basketball game between two historic girl programs, Lawrence North and Warsaw.
The Jungle is fierce as Warsaw Tiger’s star Brooke Winchester has had a tremendous 1st half with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Lawrence North Wildcat’s stars Ke’Adriah Butler has 12 points and 4 rebounds while Jamaya Thomas has 10 points. In the first 2 rounds of four Wildcats won 35-27.
In the third round (quarter) the Wildcats showed the Tigers, who are bosses by holding Warsaw’s star to 4 points. Lawrence North’s speed and defense was too much to tame during those eight minutes.
WAIT….
We still have the fourth round (quarter) for the decision to be finalized and the Tigers started out showing why they are king of the jungle. In a span of 1 minute and 39 seconds, four 3-point shots went in, and the lead dwindled to 56-49. The Tigers have clawed and worked their way back into the game 60-57, but due to fouling and needing to score the deficit was just too much to overcome.
Lawrence North won Class 4A Girl’s State Championship Basketball over Warsaw 65-59. Lawrence North leading scorers are Ke’Adriah Butler with 20, Jamaya Thomas with 14 and Kalea Bently with 12, for Warsaw Brooke Winchester with 20. Abbey Peterson won the mental attitude award for Warsaw in class 4A.
The following is per the IHSAA
Final | Class 1A State Championship
Borden 49, Lafayette Central Catholic 40
> Braves’ record comeback nets first girls basketball crown
> Sophie Royer of LCC earns Roy Mental Attitude Award
> Final Records: Borden (23-5), Lafayette Central Catholic (25-5)
> Winning Coach Matt Vick
Final | Class 2A State Championship
South Knox 55, Rensselaer Central 33
> Spartans dominate on their way to school’s first title in any sport
> Taylor Van Meter of Rensselaer named Roy Mental Attitude Award recipient
> Final Records: South Knox (28-2), Rensselaer Central (26-3)
> Winning Coach Hollie Anson-Eaves
Final | Class 3A State Championship
Norwell 53, Greensburg 44
> Norwell returns a year later to win first girls state championship
> Greensburg’s Leah West receives Roy Mental Attitude Award
> Final Records: Norwell (23-6), Greensburg (27-1)
> Winning Coach Eric Thorton
Final | Class 4A State Championship
Lawrence North 65, Warsaw Community 59
> Lawrence North wins second girls state championship (2020)
> Warsaw’s Abbey Peterson earns Roy Mental Attitude Award
> Final Records: Lawrence North (19-8), Warsaw Community (26-2)
> Winning Coach Stephen Thomas
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