The Lady Blackhawks defeated the Jasper Eagles in dramatic fashion Saturday night to win the Class 2, District 13 tournament and move on to sectional play in Clinton. The 62-53 victory brought fans to their feet in celebration as players and coaches wiped tears of joy off their faces.
Adrian found themselves down early. The Blackhawks came out flat and were on their heels as Jasper's hot shooting put Adrian down 13 points through the first period of play. Head Coach Shaun Bruto called a time out to calm his girls down and get them refocused. Whatever he said worked because from that point on it was a different ballgame.
Just like in their semi-final game, Jasper's aggressive defense landed their starters in foul trouble early. Starters had to be benched and that was the break Adrian needed to chip away at the Eagles lead. Jasper's 13 point lead evaporated into a five point deficit as Adrian took the lead in the second period. Junior Lauren Shipley hit a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Blackhawks a 37-32 lead. Adrian would never trail the rest of the game.
Adrian had foul trouble of its own during the game. Sophomore, Kerigan Wimsatt, played a good portion of the game when one of the starters got into foul trouble early. Kerigan's value to the team has been as a sixth man off the bench. Outside of Anna Walley Kerigan has subbed for all the starters. Sometimes she would take Reed's spot who would move down low for Anna. Wimsatt has never let her lack of size deter her from getting her share of rebounds. Like most games Kerigan found herself in the right position to pull down key rebounds in Adrian's rally from behind and to help preserve the lead. Coming off the bench to spell Anna late in the game was Camryn Pruitt.
Junior Bailey Reed played a great game on offense and helped shut down the Eagles scoring threat late in the game. Lauren Shipley, Malory Moles and Sheldon Tallman did a great job of working the ball around and drawing fouls. Anna Walley was an intimidating force down low that had Jasper's shooters altering their shots and missing often.
Jasper was forced to bring their starters who had been on the bench with foul trouble back into the game. Adrian put the pressure on those players to defend them, which brought on more fouls that sent the Eagle starters back to the bench for good.
Reed hit two free throws down the stretch and Malory Moles hit a late three to put the game out of reach. Moles added a free throw with 11 seconds to play to cap the scoring.
The win was a thrilling payback for last year's district championship game loss to the Jasper Eagles. With the win the Blackhawks play Wednesday at 6pm vs Skyline at Clinton High School. Skyline (25-2) defeated the Crest Ridge Cougars (23-4) 66-40 in the District 14 tournament.
The euphoria after the big win against Jasper leads to added determination to stay focused on the task at hand. Skyline has lost four games this year but to very good teams. Adrian will have to come out on fire and play well in order to advance to the Elite 8.
Adrian found themselves down early. The Blackhawks came out flat and were on their heels as Jasper's hot shooting put Adrian down 13 points through the first period of play. Head Coach Shaun Bruto called a time out to calm his girls down and get them refocused. Whatever he said worked because from that point on it was a different ballgame.
Just like in their semi-final game, Jasper's aggressive defense landed their starters in foul trouble early. Starters had to be benched and that was the break Adrian needed to chip away at the Eagles lead. Jasper's 13 point lead evaporated into a five point deficit as Adrian took the lead in the second period. Junior Lauren Shipley hit a three pointer at the buzzer to give the Blackhawks a 37-32 lead. Adrian would never trail the rest of the game.
Adrian had foul trouble of its own during the game. Sophomore, Kerigan Wimsatt, played a good portion of the game when one of the starters got into foul trouble early. Kerigan's value to the team has been as a sixth man off the bench. Outside of Anna Walley Kerigan has subbed for all the starters. Sometimes she would take Reed's spot who would move down low for Anna. Wimsatt has never let her lack of size deter her from getting her share of rebounds. Like most games Kerigan found herself in the right position to pull down key rebounds in Adrian's rally from behind and to help preserve the lead. Coming off the bench to spell Anna late in the game was Camryn Pruitt.
Junior Bailey Reed played a great game on offense and helped shut down the Eagles scoring threat late in the game. Lauren Shipley, Malory Moles and Sheldon Tallman did a great job of working the ball around and drawing fouls. Anna Walley was an intimidating force down low that had Jasper's shooters altering their shots and missing often.
Jasper was forced to bring their starters who had been on the bench with foul trouble back into the game. Adrian put the pressure on those players to defend them, which brought on more fouls that sent the Eagle starters back to the bench for good.
Reed hit two free throws down the stretch and Malory Moles hit a late three to put the game out of reach. Moles added a free throw with 11 seconds to play to cap the scoring.
The win was a thrilling payback for last year's district championship game loss to the Jasper Eagles. With the win the Blackhawks play Wednesday at 6pm vs Skyline at Clinton High School. Skyline (25-2) defeated the Crest Ridge Cougars (23-4) 66-40 in the District 14 tournament.
The euphoria after the big win against Jasper leads to added determination to stay focused on the task at hand. Skyline has lost four games this year but to very good teams. Adrian will have to come out on fire and play well in order to advance to the Elite 8.
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