By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – The Sheridan girls basketball team will get a chance to play for its second sectional title tonight.
The Blackhawks made their way to the championship game by beating host Park Tudor 55-40 in the semifinals of Class 2A Sectional 43. A solid evening of rebounding and defense propelled Sheridan to the title game, where it will look to end a nine-year drought – the ‘Hawks won their first-ever sectional in 2015.
Sheridan plays Covenant Christian at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the championship. The Warriors beat University in the second semifinal game by the score of 56-47.
The Blackhawks had to absorb a good start from the Panthers, who led 6-2 after the first two minutes of the game. Sheridan answered that with an 8-0 run, and the ‘Hawks never trailed again. Nova Cross scored four points of that run on a putback and two free throws, with Cecilia Timme and Kenzie Garner adding baskets.
Park Tudor worked its way back to a 10-10 tie by the close of the first quarter, as promising sophomore D’Aaliyah Kemp made consecutive layins. But Sheridan got two baskets to begin the second quarter, a Garner layin and a Cross jumper, and held the lead for the remainder of the game. Timme also hit a pair of jumpers in the quarter.
Efficient defense
Sheridan was rebounding well, and its defense got stronger as the game went on.
“We ran some pretty efficient defense,” said Blackhawks coach Jaidlin Bradshaw. “The girls did a really nice job of adjusting on a whim and making the changes that we needed to make in the middle of the game, so I’m really proud of them for that.”
Garner made a putback and Cross hit a layin to end the first half, giving Sheridan a 24-17 lead at the break. The duo continued to play well in the third quarter, with Garner scoring eight points and Cross adding five, including a 3-pointer.
Cross
The Blackhawks led 35-23 with 40 seconds left in the third, then took further control with an 11-0 spurt that lasted well into the fourth quarter. Garner scored the first seven points of the run, while Cross finished it up with four points.
As a result, Sheridan led 46-23 with 5:30 to go, its largest lead of the game. The Panthers continued to fight until the final buzzer, but the ‘Hawks were able to safely keep their lead in double digits.
Garner scored 21 points, with Cross scoring 17 and Timme adding 13.
Timme
“It’s huge to have those other two step up and put the ball in the basket,” said Bradshaw. “Obviously helps a lot. Really proud of them for being confident and taking open looks that they needed to take to put us in a good position.”
Garner collected 15 rebounds for a double-double and also had six assists. Mac Smith collected eight rebounds, with Timme pulling six rebounds and making five steals. Sheridan improved to 18-5 with the win.
University tried to make it an all-county sectional final, and the Trailblazers seemed to be on their way when they took a 13-5 lead with 3:25 to go in the first quarter. Charlotte Conyers already had six points by then. University stayed in front all period, leading 15-11 at the end thanks to a Keira Bright layin.
But there were already rumblings. Covenant’s Vivian Haffner made two 3-pointers in the first quarter and added two more in the second period. Still, the ‘Blazers held off the Warriors for the entire half, leading 27-21 at the break. Anyah Turley got going in the second quarter, scoring seven points that included a three-point play with 1:14 left.
A Bright triple pushed University up 31-21 early in the third. Even after absorbing a 9-2 run by Covenant, the Trailblazers led 36-30 after Leah Norvell hit a 3.
But the Warriors went on a 7-0 spurt that finished the quarter and put them in front for the first time at 37-36. Haffner nailed her sixth triple during that run.
Turley scored the first basket of the fourth quarter to get University ahead 38-37. Haffner answered that with her seventh 3, then Avery Reichart’s triple gave Covenant a 43-38 lead. The Warriors never trailed again. Haffner put in her eighth 3 to give Covenant a 50-40 lead – she finished the game with 30 points.
“All props to her,” said ‘Blazers coach Lisa Pryor. “There were a couple girls in particular on their team, they just refuse to lose. I respect that so much.”
Bright finished the game with 15 points, followed by 13 from Conyers and 11 from Turley. Hannah Grubbs and Mack Feeney both collected nine rebounds, with Turley pulling eight and Conyers six. Feeney also had four steals and four blocked shots.
University finished its season with a 10-13 record. They graduate Bright, which Pryor said will be “a huge hole that we’ll have to fill.” But the majority of the team are juniors and sophomores.
“The future, I’m excited about it,” said Pryor. “And at the same time, we got a lot of work to still do. But I believe that we can continue to improve and we’ll be back.”
SHERIDAN 55, PARK TUDOR 40
Sheridan FG FT TP PF
Nova Cross 7-11 2-2 17 3
Sadie Timme 0-2 0-2 0 3
Kenzie Garner 8-21 5-6 21 4
Brielle Garner 1-5 0-0 2 2
Cecilia Timme 5-16 3-3 13 3
Mac Smith 1-2 0-0 2 1
Makenzy Terry 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22-57 10-13 55 16
Score by Quarters
Park Tudor 10 7 6 17 – 40
Sheridan 10 14 15 16 – 55
Sheridan 3-point shooting (1-8) Cross 1-2, K. Garner 0-4, S. Timme 0-1, B. Garner 0-1.
Sheridan rebounds (39) K. Garner 15, Smith 8, C. Timme 6, S. Timme 4, Cross 3, B. Garner 3.
COVENANT CHRISTIAN 56, UNIVERSITY 47
University FG FT TP PF
Hannah Grubbs 1-5 3-5 5 3
Keira Bright 6-18 0-0 15 4
Anyah Turley 3-12 5-7 11 4
Charlotte Conyers 5-17 3-6 13 4
Mack Feeney 0-2 0-0 0 4
Meg Rohloff 0-2 0-0 0 0
Leah Norvell 1-4 0-0 3 0
Totals 16-60 11-18 47 19
Score by Quarters
Covenant Christian 11 10 16 19 – 56
University 15 12 9 11 – 47
University 3-point shooting (4-16) Bright 3-9, Norvell 1-3, Conyers 0-3, Turley 0-1.
University rebounds (39) Grubbs 9, Feeney 9, Turley 8, Conyers 6, Bright 4, Norvell 3.