University withstood a valiant comeback effort Friday night to defeat Indiana Deaf, 63-50, and advance to the Sectional 58 championship game.
The Trailblazers (17-7) played from ahead Friday on their home court, breaking out on a 19-4 run to lead by 15 in the final minute of the first quarter. Junior guard Brooke Andrus keyed the early run with seven points, as University looked early on like it would comfortably take home a win.
But the Orioles (12-12) wouldn’t go away lightly. They scored in the closing seconds of the first quarter to cut the advantage to 19-6, then closed the first half by cutting University’s lead down to 31-22. Indiana Deaf kept things rolling early in the third quarter, cutting the Trailblazers lead to five at 31-26, then to five again at 40-35.
University wouldn’t let their opponents get any closer, though. The Trailblazers closed that third quarter on an 8-1 run to lead 48-36 after three, then quickly stretched that lead to 52-36 in the opening seconds of the fourth. The lead swelled to 19 points with 4:34 to play, at 60-41, before Indiana Deaf reeled it in during garbage time to reach the 13-point final margin.
The Trailblazers were led by sophomore forward Lindsey Syrek’s 18 points Friday night, while senior guard Natalie Nickless hit a quartet of 3-pointers to record 12. Junior Lily Snyder also pitched in 12, while Andrus finished with nine.
University, which is looking for its first sectional title in six years, will contest the sectional championship for the first time since 2013 on Saturday night, playing Bethesda Christian in a 7:30 p.m. tip. The two teams have met three times already this season — the Patriots winning in November and January, the Trailblazers winning in December. Bethesda Christian has never won a girls basketball sectional championship.
University 63,
Indiana Deaf 50
University FG FT TP
Lindsey Syrek 7 4-6 18
Brooke Andrus 3 2-2 9
Lily Snyder 5 2-3 12
Lilly Fair 0 1-4 1
Jhordan McGuire 1 4-5 6
Lucy Snyder 0 1-4 1
Haley Tomlinson 2 0-0 4
Natalie Nickless 4 0-0 12
Totals 22 14-24 63
Score by Quarters
Indiana Deaf 6 16 14 14 – 50
University 19 12 17 15 – 63