Hawaii State | Archive | March, 2007

Oregon-Davis’s Sara Konkey leaps for a rebound during the 1A title game.  Photo by Natalie Evans

INDIANAPOLIS
���?? The No. 3 Oregon-Davis Bobcats rode a 25-4 second quarter to a 36-16
halftime lead that they never gave up en route to a 54-46 win over 12^th-ranked Oakland City Wood Memorial in the Class A state championship game March 3 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The win gives the Bobcats their first-ever girls basketball state title.

The Trojans got on the board first with a bucket from 6â�?��?�5â�?� senior
Kaiti Cochren to take a 2-0 lead 30 seconds into the game. From there,
the two teams exchanged baskets the rest of the quarter. With two
seconds left, the Trojans got a huge 3-pointer from junior forward
Shadoe Besing to take a 12-11 lead.

The second quarter was the turning point for the Bobcats.
Oregon-Davis freshman guard Gabrielle Minix ���?? the daughter of coach
Terry Minix ���?? hit consecutive 3-pointers and a layup for the final six
points of a 12-0 Bobcats run. That gave Oregon-Davis a 26-14 lead with
3:00 to go in the half.

â�?��?Having Gabrielle on the floor gives us a floor leader,â�?� said 14^th-year
O-D coach Terry Minix. ���?She kind of reminds me a little bit of Scott
Skiles, the way she handles the basketball and directs the other
players.â�?�

After a jumper from sophomore forward Hannah Brewster ended the 12-0
run for Wood Memorial, the Bobcats scored the final 10 points of the
quarter to cap a 22-2 run that saw O-D extend its lead to 20 at the
break, 36-16.

Poor shooting in the first half hurt the Trojans as they hit only 20
percent from the floor. The Bobcats, on the other hand, shot a solid 42
percent from the field en route to their big halftime lead.

Caley Savoie dribbles in an attempt to run down the clock in Oregon-Davis’ win. Photo by Natalie Evans

���?Unfortunately
we dug ourselves a hole in the second quarter,â�?� said ninth-year Wood
Memorial coach Johnnie Bartley. ���?They got hot and did what they can do
in scoring points in a hurry. They went on a 14-0 run, and you cannot
let a good team like Oregon-Davis do that.

â�?��?When (6â�?��?�2â�?� junior forward Keely) Wilhite got her third foul,
sitting her on the bench in the second quarter was a huge blow for us
because she does so many things. I���?�ll wonder the rest of my life if I
should have put her back in.â�?�

The third quarter was almost the exact opposite for the two teams.
Wood Memorial continued to struggle from the field (25 percent), but
the Trojans were able to get to the line 13 times and made 10 of them.

The Wood Memorial defense also stepped to the forefront in the third
quarter as the Trojans harassed Oregon-Davis into shooting only 15
percent from the floor en route to only five points in the period.
After three quarters, Wood Memorial tailed by only eight at 41-33.

���?We could have rolled over and packed it in to start the second
half, but our kids showed a lot of heart,â�?� said Bartley. â�?��?We got them
on the ropes, but just came up a few plays short after our run.â�?�

Added coach Minix: ���?I have always talked about basketball being a
game of runs. When Oakland City closed the gap, we just told our girls
they were making their run.â�?�

As the fourth quarter began to unfold, the Trojans kept inching
closer to the lead, getting it as close as four when they cut the
deficit to 43-39 on a bucket by Wilhite. But the Bobcats responded in a
big way with a 6-0 run to push the lead back to 10 at 49-39 with only
2:10 left.

From there, the Trojans got no closer than six points as Oregon-Davis finished its season at 25-3.

â�?��?This team is much like a family atmosphere,â�?� said coach Minix. â�?��?We
have a junior varsity team that went undefeated this year, and we
really feel like we can get back here.â�?�

With the loss, Wood Memorial ends its season with a 19-9 record.
Leading the way for the Trojans was Cochran, who recorded a
triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocks. The 10 blocks
set an all-class state finals record.

â�?��?Kaiti Cochren will be missed,â�?� Bartley said. â�?��?To come up with a
triple-double in the state finals shows what kind of player she has
been for us.â�?�

Gabrielle Minix paced the Bobcats with 19 points, while senior
forward Amber Boyle chipped in with nine points. Junior forward Sarah
Konkey and sophomore guard Aubrey Minix each had eight points.

O-D���?�s Boyle wins Mental Attitude Award
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Angela Boyle
of Oregon-Davis as the winner of the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude
Award.

The award, named in honor of the former IHSAA assistant commissioner
who oversaw the girls basketball state tournament from its inception in
1976 until her retirement in 1999, is presented annually to a senior
participant in each classification who was nominated by her principal
and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude,
scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.

Boyle ranks among the Top 10 students in her class with a 3.96 GPA.
She has been a member of the National Honor Society each of her four
years and also has been a youth club volunteer at her church. Boyle has
also given her time with the Plymouth Youth Girls Basketball camps as
well as the St. Joseph Medical Center and has been an after-school
tutor.

She also has earned the Tri-Kappa Award for scholarship for four
years in addition to a junior volunteer award at St. Joseph Medical
Center. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA���?�s corporate partner,
will present a $1,000 scholarship to Oregon-Davis in the name of Boyle.

â�?��?She is a great kid,â�?� said O-D coach Terry Minix. â�?��?The thing with
Angela is that she has accepted her role on this team. She gets to play
fairly good minutes, but she would probably start on most teams.

���?She���?�s a very good role player, she can stroke the three, and can
play almost anywhere on the court. She is a leader and very deserving
of this award.â�?�

The daughter of Mark and Teresa Boyle of Walkerton, Boyle plans to
study physical therapy at either Franklin College or the University of
Indianapolis.

So what do you think? Share your thoughts in our Girls Basketball forum.

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