The University girls won their third regional in school history Saturday at Southwestern (Shelby) with a pair of convincing wins.
The Trailblazers rolled over Greenwood Christian 55-29 in the championship game after handling Jac-Cen-Del 56-40 in the morning session. Strong team defense and a pair of dominating individual shooting performances led the Blazers to the semi-state round for the first time since 2009. Junior Lindsey Syrek had 28 points and eight blocked shots in the championship game while senior Jenna Blakley had 24 points in the semi-final, including 15 second-quarter points.
University (24-2) will meet Vincennes Rivet (28-0) in the 4 p.m. game at Jasper High School next Saturday.
Greenwood Christian entered the championship game averaging 86.8 points per game in the tournament. University held the Cougars scoreless for more than eight minutes and without a field goal for more than 12 minutes as part of a 28-5 run, keeping them 57 points under their tournament average.
The Trailblazers never trailed in the championship game, although Greenwood Christian kept the game close in the first quarter. Syrek scored University’s first eight points of the game. Jhordan McGuire had a traditional three-point play with 1:54 left in the first to put the Blazers ahead to stay at 11-8. Syrek finished with 10 points in the opening period as University led 13-10 at the break.
University turned up the defense in the second quarter, holding Greenwood Christian scoreless until Isabella Reed made a pair of foul shots after time expired after drawing a foul at the halftime horn. McGuire started University’s 15-0 run with a basket off a Blakley feed. Syrek scored the next seven points of the game before Blakley hit a three-pointer from a Maddi Sears assist. The 25-10 lead forced a Greenwood Christian timeout. A Blakley three-pointer made the halftime advantage 28-12.
The Trailblazers extinguished any hope Greenwood Christian had of mounting a comeback, holding the Cougars to just a single free throw in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Syrek again got the offense going, scoring the first six point of the quarter. McGuire scored on an offensive rebound and Sears hit a three-pointer for a 39-13 lead midway through the third period and University cruised to the final.
Syrek had eight blocked shots and six rebounds to go with her 28 points. McGuire tallied nine points and Blakley eight. Lily Snyder had four, Sears three, Lucy Snyder two and Hallie Harrison one to round out the University scoring.
The Trailblazers overcame a sluggish start to get by Jac-Cen-Del 56-40 in the second morning game. The win avenged a loss to the Eagles in last year’s semi-final.
University scored just once in the first seven minutes of the game, a McGuire baseline jumper. The Blazers defense was strong in the period and when Blakey fed Syrek for a lay-up with 45 seconds left in the quarter University trailed just 5-4 after the first.
Blakey took over the game in the second quarter, scoring 15 points in the period as University sprinted to a 27-20 halftime lead. Blakey gave their Blazers their first lead at 7-5 with a three-pointer just eight seconds in to the quarter. After a pair of Eagle free throws tied the game at 7, a Sears three-pointer gave University the lead for good at 10-7. Another Blakey three stretched the lead to 13-7.
After Jac-Cen-Del closed to within 13-12, University closed out the period strong with Syrek on the bench with three fouls. Blakey scored and then Sears made a three-pointer off a Lily Snyder offensive rebound. Blakley scored seven straight points and University led 25-16. A McGuire basket closed the first half scoring with a basket at the Blazers took a 27-20 advantage to the locker room.
A 12-0 run early in the third quarter put University in firm control. With a 31-25 lead Blakley scored a reverse layup off a McGuire pass. McGuire scored on an old fashioned three-point play on a pass from Blakley. A three-pointer from Blakley, a Syrek basket and another Blakley basket and University led by 18 with four minutes left in the third quarter at 43-25. The Trailblazers never led by less than 14 for the last 12 minutes of the game.
Blakley led the Blazers with 24 points. Sears had 14 while McGuire and Syrek added nine each.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
University 55, Greenwood Christian 29
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 11 6-7 28 1
Lily Snyder 2 0-0 4 2
Maddi Sears 1 0-0 3 1
Jhordan McGuire 4 1-1 9 3
Jenna Blakley 3 0-0 8 2
Lucy Snyder 1 0-0 2 1
Haley Tomlinson 0 0-0 0 0
Hallie Harrison 0 1-2 1 0
Elise Nachlis 0 0-0 0 0
Abby Hannon 0 0-0 0 0
Arrion Sherrod 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 22 8-10 55 10
Score by Quarters
Greenwood Christian 10 2 12 5 – 29
University 13 15 15 12 – 55
University 3-pointers (3) Blakley 2, Sears 1.
SEMI-FINAL GAME
University 56, Jac-Cen-Del 40
University FG FT TP PF
Lindsey Syrek 4 1-2 9 3
Lily Snyder 0 0-0 0 0
Maddi Sears 5 2-2 14 1
Jhordan McGuire 4 1-1 9 4
Jenna Blakley 8 4-6 24 1
Lucy Snyder 0 0-0 0 1
Haley Tomlinson 0 0-0 0 0
Elise Nachlis 0 0-0 0 0
Hallie Harrison 0 0-0 0 0
Totals 21 8-11 56 10
Score by Quarters
University 4 23 20 9 – 56
Jac-Cen-Del 5 15 9 11 – 40
University 3-pointers (6) Blakley 4, Sears 2.
The University girls basketball team won the Southwestern (Shelby) regional on Saturday, marking the Trailblazers’ third regional title in school history. University convincingly beat Jac-Cen-Del and Greenwood Christian to advance to next Saturday’s semi-state in Jasper. (Photo provided)