By Adam
Rouse
Staff Writer
INDIANAPOLIS â??? With the game on the line, the unranked
Brebeuf Braves went to their bread-and-butter play Jan. 27 against Class 3A No.
3 Indianapolis Chatard. And 6â??6â? junior Taâ??Shia Phillips came through as she
received a perfectly thrown lob and dipped in for a layup to give host Brebeuf a
54-52 lead with 16 seconds to go.
The Braves
held on for the victory to notch their biggest win of the season in improving
to 11-9, sending the 16-win Trojans home with just their third loss of the
season.
Phillips
was fouled on the go-ahead basket but missed the free throw, giving Chatard a
chance to tie or go for the win. After crossing halfcourt, the Trojans called
timeout to set up their final play with 9.9 seconds left on the clock.
Senior
guard Jennifer Seeber, who was 3 of 5 from the field in the second half, took a
jumper from the left wing, but the attempt was blocked by Brebeuf sophomore
Caroline Schutzman and went out of bounds. Chatard retained possession with 2.4
seconds remaining but didnâ??t get another shot at the basket as the Trojans
threw the ball away on the inbounds pass.
Phillips
turned in another all-star performance as she led all scorers with 24 points
while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. The junior center was efficient from
the field, going 11 of 19 despite sitting on the bench almost half the final
period due to foul trouble.
With the
Braves leading 38-31 in the third quarter, Phillips was whistled for her fourth
foul with 1:52 left and had to go to the bench. Chatard took advantage and was
able to open up its offense without a dominating presence standing in the
middle of the lane, trimming the deficit to 42-39 early on in the fourth on a 3-pointer
from Seeber.
Behind a
pair of baskets from sophomore Ivie Obeime, Brebeuf beefed up its lead back up
to 46-39 with 5:14 left in the game. With Phillips still sitting on the bench, however,
Chatard was able to continue to climb closer.
Sophomore
Anne Boese hit back-to-back threes to bring the Trojans within one at 46-45
with 4:07 to go. That was enough for Brebeuf coach Kendall Kreinhagen to send
Phillips back into the contest.
The move
brought immediate dividends as Phillips scored quickly to give the Braves a
48-45 advantage. But Brebeuf missed some opportunities late to possibly ice the
game when Phillips and senior Sally Fischer each missed one of two free throws
inside the final three minutes.
Trailing
50-47 with 2:16 left, Chatard attempted one of its 30 foot-plus 3-pointers and
connected as junior Kelly Gardner tied the game at 50. The Trojans certainly
lived and died by the three-point shot, and that was never more evident than in
the first period.
Coming out
against Brebeufâ??s zone defense, Chatardâ??s plan was to beat the Braves from long
distance. Nine of the Trojansâ?? 11 first-quarter shots came from three-point
land but only two connected, and Chatard trailed 11-6 after one.
The trend
continued in the second as 16 of the first 17 shots from the Trojans came from
trifecta land. The visitors finally took (and made) consecutive two-point
attempts when Phillips left the game late in the second quarter.
Gardner led three Trojans in double
figures with 16 points, followed by 15 from Boese and Seeberâ??s 13.
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