Senior guard Natalie Nickless served as a steadying force, then sophomore forward Lindsey Syrek put the game away after the break, as University captured its first sectional championship in six years, defeating Bethesda Christian 74-55 in the Class 1A Sectional 58 title game Saturday night at the U Center.
Both teams looked anxious in the opening minutes, and the Patriots (18-6) took the early lead — the Trailblazers (18-7) didn’t take their first lead until 4:07 into the game, when Nickless hit a 3-pointer to give University a 7-6 edge. That advantage was short-lived, though, and after trailing 15-12 at the quarter mark, University would not re-take the lead until its lone senior was involved once more. Nickless scored to tie the game up at 17-17, assisted a junior Haley Tomlinson bucket to give University the lead, then hit a 3 to push that lead to five, at 22-17.
The Patriots had a response, though, and clawed the game back to 22-22 midway through the second quarter — but it was Nickless ready to make the next move, finishing off an assist from junior guard Lily Snyder to put University ahead, 24-22. The Trailblazers never relinquished that lead.
Nickless scored 15 of her 20 points in the first half, many at key times. She gave University its first lead, assisted on the bucket to put them back ahead, then scored the points that put her team ahead for good. When University pushed its first-half lead to its greatest margin, 10 points at 34-24, it was again off a Nickless bucket.
Bethesda Christian closed the gap to 34-27 at the break with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the second quarter, but never got closer, as the Trailblazers finally were able to consistently establish Syrek in the post, who scored 16 of her team-high 22 points in the second half to pull away from the Patriots.
With the arrow in their favor coming out of the break, the Trailblazers got the ball to Syrek on the opening possession to lead 36-27. She hit two free throws the next time down the floor and, then followed it up with another bucket a few minutes later to run University’s lead to 43-31. Lily Snyder closed the third quarter strong with a trio of buckets, including two 3-pointers, as University won the third quarter 19-8 to lead 53-35 through three. Lily Snyder finished with 16 points, two off her season high.
University salted the game away in the fourth quarter, never letting the lead get smaller than 13, at 54-41. That’s when junior forward Lucy Snyder hit one of her two made field goals all night — but it was a key one, as it halted a quick 5-0 Bethesda Christian run and gave the Trailblazers some breathing room. Syrek scored three on an and-1 on University’s next possession, then junior guard Haley Tomlinson broke out to help salt the game away, going 5-for-7 from the line late to clinch the win. The lead was at its largest when Syrek hit a free throw to put University up 69-45 with 2:23 to play before junior guard Brooke Andrus added an exclamation point from the free throw line late.
Before Saturday’s game, the Patriots hadn’t given up more than 62 points (a Dec. 7 loss to Tindley), nor had they lost a game by more than seven points (Dec. 27 against University). Both those measures of consistency fell dramatically in the championship game, as the Trailblazers raced to a 74-point offensive performance and downed the Patriots by 19, the largest margin of victory in the series since 2012.
For the first time since 2012, University is headed back to the regional at Southwestern (Shelbyville), and the Trailblazers will face their toughest test of the season, playing No. 4 Jac-Cen-Del in the regional semi-final that will tip at noon. No. 3 Tindley looms as a likely opponent if University can pull off the upset.
University 74, Bethesda Christian 55
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 8 6-7 22 4
Brooke Andrus 1 4-6 7 0
Lily Snyder 5 3-4 16 3
Jhordan McGuire 0 0-0 0 4
Lucy Snyder 1 0-0 2 0
Haley Tomlinson 1 5-7 7 0
Natalie Nickless 8 0-0 20 2
Totals 24 18-24 74 13
Score by Quarters
Bethesda Christian 15 12 8 20 – 55
University 12 22 19 21 – 74
University 3-pointers (8) Nickless 4, Li. Snyder 3, Andrus 1.
ABOVE: University won its first sectional championship in six years on Saturday, beating Bethesda Christian for the Sectional 58 title at the U Center.
BELOW: Lindsey Syrek scored 22 points for the Trailblazers in their sectional championship win over Bethesda Christian on Saturday. (Jamie Owens)
