The University girls basketball team is sprinting to the finish line.
The Class 1A No. 3 Trailblazers are playing their final games of the regular season this week, and not letting up the busy pace. University has already competed twice this week, and won both games: The ‘Blazers won their first ever Pioneer Conference championship by beating Greenwood Christian Academy 72-33 on the road Monday, then returned to the U Center on Tuesday to defeat county rival, Class 3A Guerin Catholic 56-39.
University had no trouble with Greenwood Christian, leading 13-4 after the first quarter and 36-13 at halftime. Trailblazers coach Justin Blanding said the team had some motivation for wanting to win the conference title.
“We really wanted to win,” said Blanding. “Our kids came out and played hard. They wanted to be the first girls team here to win the PAAC, so they did that. I was happy for that.”
The ‘Blazers were led by junior Lindsey Syrek, who earned the first triple-double in school history while playing against GCA. Syrek finished the game with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.
“When she really asserts herself and plays hard for 32 minutes, she’s capable of numbers like that,” said Blanding. “That’s something we’ve been challenging her on is just playing harder. She did that. She’s a rim protector. She pulled down those rebounds. She’s getting stronger.”
Jenna Blakley added 14 points, while Jhordan McGuire scored 13. Blakley and Brooke Andrus both made two 3-pointers.
Rather than have a letdown, University kept the momentum going in its Tuesday game with Guerin Catholic. The Trailblazers raced out to a 21-6 first-quarter lead, then were up 33-15 at halftime. The Golden Eagles played even with University in the second half, but the Trailblazers’ early lead carried them through.
Both teams were missing key players, as Andrus was injured and forced to sit out. GC’s Paige Bennett was sick and had to miss the game.
“With Guerin, they play so hard,” said Blanding. “They’re so quick and athletic. It can throw you off a little bit. Our offense was rushed a little bit because they sped us up.”
Blanding credited University’s seven seniors for using their experience to win the game.
“They just knew what to do,” he said.
Syrek had another tremendous game with 24 points, with McGuire, one of the seniors, scoring 14 points. Syrek and Blakley both drained two 3-pointers.
Nicole Cunningham led Guerin Catholic with 12 points.
“They were able to get us early, down and it took a while for our girls to ramp it up a notch, knowing we were playing a really good team,” said GC coach Jeff Buckner. “And that’s what we talked about in the second half was, we could either come back out and get better against a good team, or we could let it continue the way it was.”
“We dug ourselves such a hole that it was going to be tough to get back into it,” said Buckner. “But I thought they came out in the second half and played really, really well.”
The Golden Eagles are 4-15 and will host Brebeuf Jesuit Friday as part of a Circle City Conference girls-boys doubleheader.
University is 19-1 for the season and will wrap up the regular season by hosting Tri-West on Thursday. The Bruins, another 3A team, are 14-5 for the season, and Blanding said they are “very, very good.”
“They can blow us out,” said Blanding. “They have that kind of firepower. So we’ve got to be prepared. We’ve really got to know our personnel and just come out and play.”
University 72, Greenwood Christian 33
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 7 5-6 19 1
Brooke Andrus 2 2-2 8 2
Lily Snyder 3 0-2 7 2
Jhordan McGuire 4 5-6 13 3
Lucy Snyder 4 0-0 8 3
Maddi Sears 1 0-0 2 0
Haley Tomlinson 0 0-0 0 0
Jenna Blakley 5 2-2 14 1
Hallie Harrison 0 0-0 0 2
Bayan Abdullah 0 0-0 0 0
Elise Nachlis 0 0-0 0 0
Anne Gibboney 0 0-0 0 0
Abby Hanlon 0 1-2 1 0
Arrion Sherrod 0 0-0 0 1
Totals 26 15-20 72 15
Score by Quarters
University 18 18 15 19 – 72
Greenwood Christian 4 9 9 11 – 33
University 3-pointers (5) Andrus 2, Blakley 2, Li. Snyder 1.
University 56, Guerin Catholic 39
Guerin Catholic FG FT TP PF
Katie Koger 0 0-0 0 0
Claire Sawyer 2 0-0 5 1
Carly Wilson 0 0-0 0 3
Nicole Cunningham 3 5-5 12 1
Olivia Labus 2 0-0 4 2
Hanna Bills 1 0-1 2 1
Kathryn Loso 1 1-1 3 0
MT Ford 3 0-0 6 1
Halley Buehler 3 1-3 7 2
Totals 15 7-10 39 11
Guerin Catholic 3-pointers (2) Sawyer, Cunningham.
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 10 2-5 24 1
Lily Snyder 1 0-0 2 1
Maddi Sears 1 2-2 4 0
Jhordan McGuire 4 6-6 14 3
Lucy Snyder 2 0-1 4 0
Haley Tomlinson 0 0-0 0 1
Hallie Harrison 0 0-0 0 0
Jenna Blakley 3 0-0 8 5
Totals 21 10-14 56 11
University 3-pointers (4) Syrek 2, Blakley 2.
Score by Quarters
Guerin Catholic 6 9 14 10 – 39
University 21 12 12 11 – 56
The University girls basketball team won its first ever Pioneer Conference championship on Monday by beating Greenwood Christian Academy 72-33. This makes the Trailblazers the first ever girls team to win a PAAC title. (Photo provided)