By Colin Altevogt
Girls Basketball Coordinator
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Emily Anderson of Heritage
Christian (32) scored 16 points in helping the Eagles advance to the state finals. Photo by Jay Alley |
SOUTHPORT
â??? As is her usual tradition, Heritage Christian forward Kelly Faris
came to life in the second half. The 5â??11â? sophomore scored ten of her
12 points in the third quarter and made a multitude of defensive plays
to disrupt the Mitchell offense.
That
spark was enough to allow the Eagles to pull away as Heritage Christian
routed Mitchell, 55-39, to advance to the state finals. The Eagles will
make their third championship game appearance in the last four years.
â??No
matter whether itâ??s halftime, a time out or a quarter, somebody has to
step up no matter who it is,â? Faris said. â??With our team, a good run
gets our momentum going and gets us excited.â?
Heritage
Christian shot 23-of-40 from the floor, including a red-hot 8-of-9 in
the third quarter when the only miss was on a play where forward Emily
Anderson was fouled. Mitchell hit just 14-of-48 from the field,
negating a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass. The Bluejackets
continuously had second and third opportunities but could not convert
them time after time.
led the Eagles with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Faris added 12
points and ten rebounds while connecting on six of her eight attempts.
â??Weâ??ve
been doing that all year long where we had different girls who can step
up,â? Heritage Christian coach Rick Risinger said. â??At different times,
weâ??ll do different things. Itâ??s nice to be able to have any of the
girls step up and do well.â?
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Mitchell’s Amanda Brinkman
tries to drive past Bre Jones of Heritage Christian. Photo by Jay Alley |
Mitchell
got the first score of the game on an lay-up from Amanda Trambaugh, who
led the Jackets with 15 points. Heritage Christian, scored the next ten
and the Eagles led 12-4 after one quarter.
Down
16-6 with 5:45 remaining in the first half, Mitchell got a three from
point guard Jordan Wilson and another open lay-up from Trambaugh to cut
the deficit in half. Following a timeout, however, Heritage Christian
answered with a 10-1 run to open its lead up to 14.
Mitchell scored the next six points and trailed 26-18 at halftime, but the Jackets never got within striking distance again.
Faris
and Anderson were huge in the third quarter, combining for 15 of the
Eaglesâ?? 18 points in the period. Mitchellâ??s Natalie Morse hit a three
right before time expired, but Heritage Christian still led by 16,
44-28, heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams played pretty even until the end of the game when they each cleared their benches.
Heritage
Christian, the defending 2A state champion, will face Jimtown in the
state finals Mar. 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse. Jimtown advanced by downing
Oak Hill in overtime at
â??Whoever
comes out of the north will be strong. They didnâ??t get to the state
championship because they were a weak team,â? Risinger said. â??Weâ??re
trying to peak at the right time which I think we are.â?
So what do you think? Share your thoughts in our Girls Basketball forum.
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