TERRE HAUTE —
Defensive pressure turned the first semifinal game of the Class 4A girls high school basketball sectional Friday at Terre Haute South into a rout.
It helped turn the second game into a war.
The host Braves got some steals in the third quarter that got them on their way to a 71-49 victory over Plainfield, and they’ll meet four-time defending champion Mooresville at 7 p.m. today for the championship; the Pioneers outlasted Terre Haute North 52-44 in the second game.
South had turned around its game with the pesky Quakers with a 7-0 run midway through the second quarter, but led only 35-29 at halftime.
“We went into the locker room positive because we didn’t play our best and were still up by six,” coach Cara Stuckey said after the game. “I challenged some of our girls at halftime, and they didn’t hide … they turned up the defensive pressure, created some turnovers and that led to some easy baskets.”
Kylie Fendrick got the decisive run started with an assist to Lauren Hambrock for a layup, then stole the ball for a layup of her own. Emily Bell hit a 3-pointer, then Tasia Brewer stole the ball and passed it to Fendrick for another layup. Instead of being within six points, the Quakers were down by 15; they never recovered.
“Our goal was to get a quick start [in the third quarter] and not let [the Quakers] hang around and get confidence like they did the last time,” said Stuckey, whose team won 88-80 in overtime at Plainfield during the regular season.
Brewer was a problem for the Plainfield defense all night and wound up leading all scorers with 22 points while grabbing five rebounds, getting four steals and handing out four assists.
Hambrock added 16 points plus four assists of her own, Bell had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds, Labrea Joyner scored 10 and Fendrick had eight with four steals as the entire South starting lineup made major contributions.
Mackenzie Jeffries hit six 3-pointers and led Plainfield with 18 points while also hustling for seven rebounds. Senior reserve Betsy Gillenwater was the Quakers’ second-half bright spot and finished with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Friday’s second game featured two teams very different in size but very similar in physicality. When the bigger Patriots could get the ball inside, they usually scored — but in the second quarter they struggled to do that.
“We knew if we could get the ball in the half-court we would put the ball in the basket,” coach Mike Allen of the Patriots explained afterward, “but our opponents know that also.”
North never trailed in the first quarter — getting all their points from 6-foot-2 Adrienne Pritchard and 6-1 Nicole Anderson — and led 11-8 at the first stop, but the Mooresville press took a serious toll in the second period.
With freshman reserve Lauren McBryar getting 10 points and three steals by herself in that quarter, the Pioneers went on a 13-2 run for a 21-13 lead and were still up 28-20 at halftime. At the end of two periods North had attempted 14 shots, making half of them, but had committed 16 turnovers.
“The second quarter probably determined the game. We didn’t handle [Mooresville’s] pressure very well,” Allen said later. “They made us play a lot faster than we wanted to play.”
Anderson, who closed out her high school career with another heroic effort, had all but one of North’s points in the second quarter and the first half of the third period, but willed her team within 29-25 with a 3-pointer early in the second half. The Patriots kept creeping closer, but yielded a drive through their zone defense by Mooresville’s Mandy Fisher in the final seconds of the third quarter that kept the Pioneers ahead 37-32.
It was still a six-point game in the fourth quarter, but baskets by Pritchard and Sierra Sykes got the Patriots within 42-40. Then Fisher, Mooresville’s senior leader, stepped up.
She drew a charging foul against Pritchard — Pritchard’s fifth — that wiped out a game-tying layup, then got a basket that gave her team some breathing room. After that the 5-8 Fisher came out of one of several scraps around the basket with a defensive rebound and hit two more free throws, and North never got closer than four points again.
“We had a great effort,” Allen noted. “We talked at the half about how there are no eight-point shots; we’d have to get back one shot at a time, one stop at a time, and we did. We had a chance to tie it up.”
Fisher, McBryar and Sarah Corbin had 12 points each to lead Mooresville, while Anderson had 28 points and Pritchard 10 plus a game-high nine rebounds for North.
“Nicole gave me four years of effort on every possession,” Allen said sadly after the game. “She was a great leder on the floor and she makes people around her a lot better. Miami of Ohio is getting a great player.”
North’s other senior was forward Lindsay Clark, of whom Allen said, “Lindsay was a great leader on and off the court. She stepped into that role this year and did a great job; she’ll be missed around practice and in the locker room.”
High School
Related Photos
-
Shot: South's #12 Tasia Brewer uses fingertip control as she drives against Plainfield defender Mackenzie Reeder during first half action of the girls sectional game.
Discussion
South reaches sectional final after dominating Plainfield
- High School
-
-
Goatee, Bertoli ran away with Spring Athlete of the Year
When honoring athletes after a season of excellence, the phrase “what might have been” doesn’t usually come up.
But in the case of Terre Haute South’s Jackson Bertoli and Terre Haute North’s TaPring Goatee – the Tribune-Star’s Athletes of the Year for spring sports – there’s an air of unfinished business despite obvious recent successes.
-
Post 346 opens tournament with two victories
Preston Tofaute got on base enough to score three runs, Cody Thornton smashed a two-run triple in the first inning and pitcher Pete Lannoo scattered four hits over a seven-inning complete game.
All of that helped Wayne Newton Post 346 down Lafayette Post 11 by a 7-2 score in the opener of the Terre Haute Inviatational tournament for American Legion baseball Thursday afternoon at Terre Haute North High School. -
North boys move up to 13th in golf state finals
Early Wednesday morning, Terre Haute North senior Ryan Baker and coach Abe Nasser headed out to the Legends of Indiana Golf Course for a range session.
Baker wasn’t happy with the 85 he shot in Tuesday’s first round of the IHSAA boys golf state finals.
“He was frustrated,” Nasser said.
Problem solved. Baker bounced back with a 2-over 74 Wednesday, helping the Patriots improve their team score by seven strokes.
The Patriots shot 304 as a team Wednesday, giving them a two-day score of 615, good for 13th place in the 15-team field. -
Big hill to climb for North golf
Terre Haute North boys golf is 21 strokes behind leaders at IHSAA boys golf tourney.
-
Top of her game
There are a lot of surprising facts about blossoming volleyball prodigy Caitlyn Newton, including that shape-shifting thing she can apparently do, but maybe one of them stands out the most. She may only be scratching the surface.
-
Camp, Howe win, then lose in state tennis tourney
Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe of Terre Haute South won their first match of high school tennis Friday at the state individual doubles finals, then won the first set against a powerful Park Tudor team before falling in three sets.
-
Terre Haute North heading back to state finals in boys golf
Terre Haute North is going back to the state finals in boys high school golf for the first time in more than 10 years. The Patriots qualified for a trip to The Legends Course next week by tying for third in the Washington Regional at Country Oaks Golf Club and advancing with the better fifth score.
-
North, South, Sullivan to compete at golf regional
Boys high school golf teams from the Wabash Valley will compete in the Washington Regional on Thursday, seeking a spot in the state finals to be played next week.
-
Terre Haute North falls 6-1 to Brownsburg in opening game of Class 4A Regional
Terre Haute North coach Shawn Turner told the Patriots to raise their heads. He wanted to see their eyes at the close of their 24-7 high school baseball season.
-
Terre Haute North girls shine on dreary day at track state finals
Led by a record setting 3,200-meter relay team and Keirra Porter’s long jump, Terre Haute North turned in its best finish ever in the 40th annual IHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on Saturday at Indiana University in Bloomington.
-
Valley teams will have to wait until Monday for baseball regionals
Rain and the threat of more rain caused postponements of high school baseball regionals involving Terre Haute North, West Vigo and Shakamak on Saturday.
-
Rockville's season ends at Lafayette Central Catholic
Lafayette Central Catholic ended Rockville’s tourney run in high school baseball Saturday, defeating the Rox 8-0 in the first game of the LCC Class A Regional.
-
IHSAA boys state track finals: Standing alone
It hadn’t been a particularly good day for Wabash Valley track and field Friday, and it wasn’t looking like a good one for Jackson Bertoli either.
-
Terre Haute North, West Vigo return to baseball regionals
Terre Haute North’s baseball team hasn’t participated in an IHSAA regional since 2006. West Vigo’s wait hasn’t been as long, but it was 2010 when the Vikings last advanced from a sectional.
-
Patriots girls take aim at state track title
Terre Haute North’s girls have several potential state champions today at Indiana University.
-
South, North track athletes looking for big performances at state finals
Terre Haute South’s distance trio of Jackson Bertoli, Logan Hambrock and Riley Stohler appear to be the favorites to crack all-state status among Wabash Valley competitors today in the IHSAA boys track and field state finals at Indiana University.
-
Internet site keeps area prep teams on airwaves
- PREP ROUNDUP: Locals to take part in Hoosiers All-Star Game
-
South Vermillion softball can't overcome errors, Tri-West
Uncharacteristic errors led to eight unearned runs and hard-luck hitting made that impossible to overcome for South Vermillion, which fell 8-0 to Tri-West in Class 3A regional play.
-
Clay City softball comes up short against Lutheran
Clay City closed its high school softball season Tuesday night with the best record ever for the program at 21-9.
The Eels wanted to add another win, the school’s first regional title, but they came up short.
-
PREP ROUNDUP: Rockville wins baseball sectional
Rockville won its own Class A sectional in high school baseball Tuesday, defeating Covington 10-4 in the rain-delayed championship game.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional:The wait is over
Three minutes into an interview with various media members, Terre Haute North baseball coach Shawn Turner couldn’t react fast enough to avoid a bucket of ice water being dumped over his head from behind by his giddy players. The soaking-wet Turner could shake it off with a smile, however, because his Patriots had just won the IHSAA Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional championship with a 13-3 six-inning triumph over Plainfield on Monday evening.
-
Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional: TH North, Plainfield win squeakers
The high school baseball teams of Terre Haute North and Plainfield proved Monday that what a batter does early in the game is not necessarily indicative of what he will do in the late innings.
-
Class 2A Linton Sectional: Eastern rains on Sullivan parade
Mother Nature put Sullivan’s quest for a high school baseball sectional championship on hold Monday night at Linton-Stockton High School. Sullivan (14-15) and Eastern Greene (16-7) will resume play in the Class 2A Sectional 47 championship game at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Linton’s Roy Herndon Field.
-
Opening Day: Terre Haute Rex host Quincy
In his first season at the helm, first-year Terre Haute Rex manager Ronnie Prettyman is going to be surrounded by men he knows and trusts.
-
Class A Shakamak Sectional: Stout pitching leads Union, Shakamak to final
Trey Bedwell and Patrick Green made sure their respective high school baseball teams would meet for the championship of the Class A Shakamak Sectional by pitching shutouts in semifinal contests Monday afternoon.
-
Class A Rockville Sectional: Covington, Rockville title game postponed
Rockville and Covington won semifinal high school baseball games Monday to advance to the championship game of the Rockville Class A Sectional. Due to rain, the championship game was postponed. A decision was expected this morning whether the game will be played today or Wednesday.
-
South Vermillion, Linton, Clay City look to stay alive in softball
There might have been as many reasons to think they wouldn’t be winning sectionals this spring as evidence to show they would, but high school softball teams from South Vermillion, Linton and Clay City will be playing one-game regionals Tuesday with the chance to keep defying the odds.
-
West Vigo back on top of Class 3A baseball sectional
West Vigo won its sectional with a 6-4 victory over South Vermillion on a rainy night at Dick Ballinger Field.
-
South runs into ‘buzzsaw’ at girls tennis semistate
Postmatch interviews don’t often begin with a coach and a reporter ready to blurt out the same word, but that was the case for Bill Blankenbaker and his interviewer Saturday morning after the Center Grove Semistate for girls high school tennis.
Unfortunately for Blankenbaker’s Terre Haute South team, that word was “buzzsaw.”
Greenwood’s Kawamoto twins made quick work of the top of the Braves’ singles lineup, so despite stellar efforts by both South doubles teams the Woodmen’s 3-2 victory didn’t seem all that close.
Greenwood moves on to Fishers, where it plays Floyd Central or Jasper on Friday in the state quarterfinals.
Also playing Friday, but at Park Tudor, will be South’s Miranda Camp and Nicole Howe, who reached the individual doubles finals for the second straight season by virtue of their 6-4, 6-2 win over the Greenwood team of Taylor Hudnall and Brittany Toney.
“It’s really exciting,” said Howe of the prospect of a second straight finals trip, “but I wish our team could’ve gone with us.”
- More High School Headlines
-
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets
Raw: Volcano Erupts Near Mexico City
Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback
Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again
Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On'
Raw: Obama Arrives in Berlin
Raw: Marines Land Osprey on Japanese Ship
Suicide Bombs Target Baghdad Mosque, Killing 29
Obama Welcomes WNBA Champions to White House
Today in History June 19
Obama Seeks G-8 Support on Syria
Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone During UK Concert
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Miami Heat Wins in Overtime
Fists, chairs fly in restaurant brawl
Journalist Michael Hastings Dies in Fiery Hollywood Crash
Hairy Leg Stockings Aim to Deflect Male Attention
Inside Kim Kardashian's Premature Labor
Three Charged for Enslaving Mother and Daughter
Spurs' Popovich has no problem with Spurs' intensity
RAW: NSA Director Says 50 Plots Foiled
Paige Butcher Scorches on Hawaii Beach
Video: worst way to load cargo onto a plane
Never-before-seen footage of '08 Times Square bomber
Obama: NSA Secret Data Gathering 'Transparent'
WATCH IT: Lil Wayne tramples American flag
Mariah Carey Looks Beautiful in a Tiny Cut-Out Swimsuit
Out of Control Boat Throws Passengers Overboard
See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab
