University’s first foray in to Class 2A sectional play came to an abrupt end Friday night, as the second-ranked Trailblazers fell to 14th-ranked Covenant Christian 54-48 at Western Boone.
University struggled to get their offense moving against the battled tested Warriors and fell behind by 13 points entering the fourth quarter. The Trailblazers held Covenant Christian without a fourth quarter field goal and battled back to have a chance to tie the game in the last ten seconds, but a three point attempt was blocked and the Warriors made the last three of their 12 fourth quarter foul shots in the last five seconds to ice the game.
The Blazers were led by their seniors, Maddi Sears and Lindsey Syrek who each had 12 points. Syrek had 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots before fouling out in the closing seconds. Freshman Payton Seay had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kelsey DuBois had nine points and five rebounds.
Trailing 42-29 after the third quarter, University’s comeback began with a rebound basket by DuBois and a Syrek field goal. Two Covenant Christian free throws reset the lead at 11 before University scored seven points in less than a minute on field goals by DuBois and Syrek and a three pointer by Sears.
The Blazers hit another offensive lull, not scoring for nearly two minutes while the Warriors added three foul shots. Sierra Hinds scored with 2:45 left then Jordan Patterson stole the ball and made a lay-in and University was within 47-44 with 2:33 left.
Three more Covenant Christian free throws gave the Warriors a 50-44 lead with 1:36 remaining. After a DuBois steal, Sears hit another three pointer for to cut the lead to 50-47. Covenant Christian added a foul shot with 50 seconds left before Hinds split a pair of foul shots with 38 seconds remaining to bring University within 51-48.
The Blazers defense forced a turnover with 30 seconds remaining. After a timeout with 10.7 seconds remaining, Sears’ three point attempt from the right corner was deflected. The Warriors grabbed the rebound and added three more foul shots in the final seconds.
University finishes 22-2 on the season. Covenant Christian improves to 16-8 and advances to play the host Western Boone Stars in Saturday’s championship game.
The Warriors won the game at the foul line, making 24 of 26 attempts, including 12 of 17 in the fourth quarter. University was 7 of 9 at the charity stripe for the game.
Syrek ends her University career with 1,812 points, good for third all-time among Hamilton County girls. The New Jersey Institute of Technology recruit finishes with 458 blocked shots, fourth best in Indiana history per the Hickory Husker Record Book of Indiana High School Basketball. Syrek finished with 1,161 career rebounds, good for seventh all time in state history. She made 53.6 percent of her field goals over four years, 10th best in state history. Syrek is University’s first NCAA Division I basketball recruit and first Indiana Junior All-Star.
COVENANT CHRISTIAN 54, UNIVERSITY 48
University FG FT TP PF
Kelsey DuBois 4-8 1-2 9 4
Sierra Hinds 1-5 1-2 3 2
Lindsey Syrek 6-11 0-0 12 5
Payton Seay 3-4 3-3 10 3
Maddi Sears 4-12 2-2 12 2
Jordan Patterson 1-7 0-0 2 5
Arrion Sherrod 0-0 0-0 0 0
Totals 19-47 7-9 48 21
Score by Quarters
University 9 12 8 19 – 48
Covenant 14 15 13 12 – 54
University 3-point shooting (3-16) Sears 2-6, Seay 1-2, Hinds 0-4, Patterson 0-4.
University rebounds (28) Syrek 10, DuBois 5, DuBois 5, Sears 4, Hinds 4.