An opponent can never count out a Carmel team. Ever.
The Greyhounds’ girls basketball team nearly delivered that lesson to Homestead the hard way Saturday night in the championship game of the Class 4A Kokomo regional. Carmel nearly made a most improbable comeback from 19 points down in the fourth quarter.
The Greyhounds cut the Spartans’ lead to one, 54-53 with 1:40 left, and the battle continued all the way to the buzzer before Homestead escaped with a 63-59 regional victory. The Spartans now advance to the 4A north semi-state to play Northridge, while Carmel’s season ends with a 23-4 record.
“I just told our kids after the game, I’ve never been more prouder of a team that I’ve coached,” said ‘Hounds coach Tod Windlan. “The heart, desire and the never-give-up attitude that we preach in our program all the way from third grade up kind of reared its ugly head on Homestead tonight.”
Carmel was down 48-29 with 6:18 left in the fourth period, but then began its run. It started with four free throws from Tomi Taiwo (two on a personal foul and two more on a Spartans’ technical foul). Olivia Christy then made a jumper, and Carmel was now within 48-35.
The Greyhounds’ big push came when they trailed 54-43 with 2:29 left. Carmel went on a blistering 10-0 run, only needing 49 seconds to cut Homestead’s lead from 11 to one. Jasmine McWilliams started it with two foul shots.
Then it was Amy Dilk time. The junior had been in foul trouble, having picked up her fourth foul late in the third quarter. But Dilk played with a remarkable amount of poise and courage, including eight straight points in a 30-second span.
Dilk took Homestead’s lead down to 54-48 after making a three-point play. Carmel quickly got the ball back, and Dilk’s layin whittled the lead to 54-50. The ‘Hounds got the ball back again, and Dilk scored on a putback while being fouled, and made the free throw.
“Foul trouble’s part of the game, and I thought Amy played tremendously in the fourth quarter with four fouls,” said Windlan. “Not commit another one and to be able to score like she did, and her free throw shooting was great.”
Unfortunately, 54-53 was as close as Carmel would get. Homestead turned up its defense, and the Spartans went 9-of-12 from the free throw line to keep themselves ahead. The Greyhounds did get within 60-57 with less than a minute to go, and threw up a 3-pointer that just missed. The Spartans were able to hang on from there.
The championship game was a screamer from the beginning. Taiwo opened the scoring with a basket off a steal, and Dilk scored six points in the first quarter. Homestead began to pull away in the second period, eventually leading 19-13 at halftime. Two quick 3-pointers from Karissa McLaughlin helped give the Spartans some momentum.
Carmel tried to seize the momentum back in the beginning of the second half, scoring five points at the start. Blake Smith laid the ball in, and Olivia Christy threw in a 3-pointer to get the ‘Hounds within 19-18. But the Spartans went on an 8-0 run, and kept steadily increasing their lead until Carmel began its furious comeback.
Dilk scored 21 points to lead all scorers, while Smith added 10 points. Smith, McWilliams and Reagan Hune all pulled five rebounds; Hune played exceptionally well on the boards in the fourth quarter. Smith had three blocked shots, while Dilk made two blocks.
In the morning semi-final, Carmel overwhelmed Fort Wayne Carroll 84-46. The Greyhounds led 15-10 after the first quarter, then blasted through the second period to take a 40-14 halftime lead. Carmel then cruised through the second half.
Taiwo drained five 3-pointers on her way to 17 points, with Molly Gillig and Mackenzie Wood both scoring 11. Macy Berglund added 10 points.
Carmel totaled 45 rebounds, with Smith grabbing nine, McWilliams getting eight and Hune grabbing six. Dilk dished out eight assists, while Sophie Bair handed out six. Smith blocked two shots.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Homestead 63, Carmel 59
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Olivia Christy 2-6 2-2 7 4
Amy Dilk 8-20 5-6 21 4
Blake Smith 5-8 0-0 10 5
Tomi Taiwo 2-8 5-6 9 3
Mackenzie Wood 0-0 0-0 0 1
Jasmine McWilliams 1-1 6-6 8 5
Reagan Hune 1-1 0-0 2 2
Molly Gillig 0-0 0-0 0 0
Maddi Sears 1-2 0-0 2 1
Totals 20-46 18-20 59 25
Score by Quarters
Carmel 8 5 15 31 – 59
Homestead 9 10 21 23 – 63
Carmel 3-point shooting (1-9) Christy 1-2, Taiwo 0-4, Dilk 0-2, Sears 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (26) Smith 5, McWilliams 5, Hune 5, Dilk 4, Taiwo 2, Sears 2, Wood 1, team 2.
SEMI-FINAL GAME
Carmel 84, Fort Wayne Carroll 46
Carmel FG FT TP PF
Olivia Christy 2-7 0-0 6 0
Amy Dilk 1-4 1-2 3 0
Blake Smith 4-6 0-0 8 2
Tomi Taiwo 6-12 0-0 17 2
Mackenzie Wood 5-6 1-1 11 1
Maddi Sears 3-7 0-0 8 0
Sophie Bair 2-3 0-0 4 2
Jasmine McWilliams 0-3 4-4 4 0
Lauren Gartenhaus 0-1 2-2 2 3
Reagan Hune 0-5 0-0 0 1
Molly Gillig 4-5 0-0 11 1
Macy Berglund 3-4 4-4 10 1
Totals 30-63 12-13 84 13
Score by Quarters
Carmel 15 25 17 27 – 84
Carroll 10 4 13 19 – 46
Carmel 3-point shooting (12-25) Taiwo 5-7, Gillig 3-4, Christy 2-7, Sears 2-4, Dilk 0-2, Gartenhaus 0-1.
Carmel rebounds (45) Smith 9, McWilliams 8, Hune 6, Berglund 5, Dilk 4, Taiwo 3, Wood 3, Gartenhaus 2, Sears 2, team 3.