Managing Editor
INDIANAPOLIS â??? Carmel forward Danielle Havel had been the dominant
player throughout the Class 4A No. 12 Greyhoundsâ?? Jan. 23 battle at 2A
No. 1 Heritage Christian. The 6-foot junior had poured in 21 points
through the first three quarters of a fast-paced game that saw Carmel
twice build leads of 18 points over the defending 2A state champions.
So it seemed fitting that once the host Eagles made a furious
comeback to tie the game at 59 that Havel would be the one to step to
the free throw line with a chance to win the game with 10.3 seconds to
go before a deafening throng at â??The Pit.â?
After her first
charity attempt missed, Havel (pronounced HAY-vull) calmly drained the
second free throw. And that was the difference as the â??Hounds held on
for a thrilling 60-59 girls basketball victory.
â??I knew I gotta make this shot,â? Havel said when asked what was
going through her mind after the initial miss. â??I told myself, â??this
oneâ??s going in.â?? â?
Carmel (14-4) shot 60 percent (9 of 15) in a first quarter that
doubled as a track meet. The teams combined for 34 possessions in the
first seven minutes and, behind Havelâ??s nine first-period point, he
Greyhounds led 21-11 after the opening eight minutes.
When Carmel sank four of its first five shots in the second stanza â???
the last two buckets coming on a laying and a gorgeous left-handed
scoop shot by Havel â??? the Greyhounds were in cruise control at 30-16. A
jumper by junior guard Ashlee Spearman on a Havel assist and a putback
from sophomore guard Chrissy Steffen pushed the lead to 34-16, and
Heritage Christian coach Rick Risinger found his Eagles (17-3) in a
frightening familiar spot
â??Last year (in a 44-41 Carmel victory) they had an 11-0 run on us, and they did it again this year,â?? Risinger said.
Tepid 32-percent shooting signaled big trouble for the Eagles, who
went 5 of 18 from the floor in the first quarter and 5 of 13 in the
second. With Carmel finishing the half shooting 53 percent (16 of 30),
it was no wonder the Greyhounds held a commanding 38-24 lead at the
half.
â??Our kids came out and played hard â??? we attacked,â? said Carmel coach Scott Bowen. â??Our size hurt â??em a little bit, I think.
The mauling continued early on the second half as the Greyhounds
sank five of their first six shots. When junior forward Paige
Coapstickâ??s jumper fell at the 4:29 mark, Carmel had again built the
lead to 18 at 48-30.
It appeared that Risingerâ??s long halftime speech had gone for naught.
â??We went through, again, the game plan and said we canâ??t get it all
back at once,â? Risinger said when asked about why the Eagles didnâ??t
return to the floor until just 17 seconds remained before the start of
the third quarter.
Thatâ??s when the Heritage Christian offense finally kicked in. A 14-4
run over the last half of the period drew the Eagles within eight at
52-44 heading into the fourth, due in large part to much better ball
handling. (The Eagles had committed 11 first-half turnovers but just
two in the third.)
â??We had built the lead, then gave them a snip of hope,â? Bowen said. â??We were getting a little rushed with the ball.â?
Indeed. After sophomore guard Maggie Byrneâ??s 3-pointer put the
Greyhounds back up 11 with 5:42 remaining in the contest, the bottom
fell out. Steffenâ??s two free throws at the 2:54 mark would be the only
points Carmel would score over the next 5:31, and at one point the
Greyhounds â??? who obviously missed 6-foot sophomore forward Lauren
McRoberts (out after a second-quarter sprained ankle) had matched their
fourth-quarter scoring output of seven with an equal number of
turnovers.
Heritage Christian, meanwhile, continued to claw away at the
deficit. The Eagles hit three of four shots and made all four of their
free throws, and suddenly they were within just two points at 59-57
with 2:42 left.
Then silence. (At least offensively â??? the crowd was going absolutely
bonkers.) Seven possessions would go by before HCâ??s leading scorer,
sophomore forward Kelly Faris, banked home a runner on the right side
from an improbable angle to knot it up at 59 with just :22.7 left.
Following a Carmel timeout at :12.2, the Greyhounds executed the
play of the game. On the inbounds pass from halfcourt, Spearman
expertly lobbed over the 5â??11â? Faris to Havel, who went in for the
layup â?¦ and promptly got hammered by Faris.
No gimmes here. Havel would go to the free throw line, seeking her first points of the period and a chance at destiny.
Mission accomplished.
â??Sheâ??s a warrior,â? Bowen said. â?? Sheâ??s a competitor and wants to win.â?
Heritage Christian had a chance to ultimately prevail, but the
Eagles did not get to run the play they wanted. Instead of working the
ball in to Faris or senior guard Bre Jones, they were forced to go to
guard Alyssa Burton.
And though the 5â??4â? sophomore had made both of her previous
field-goal attempts, this 17-footer from the left side came up short.
Carmel had survived, barely. And Havel was relieved.
â??We knew that had a very strong team and had a swagger,â? Havel said.
â??Before (during the season), we havenâ??t held on to leads. So yeah, this
was our best win of the year.â?
Havel, who added eight rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked
shots to her game-high 22 points, was joined in double figures by
Steffen (15 points) and Spearman (10).
Jones led Heritage Christian with 19 points, while senior forward
Courtney Turner added 16 points and 11 rebounds. Faris, who scored only
12 points at the target of Carmelâ??s rabid defense, excelled elsewhere
with a game-high 12 rebounds and seven assists.
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