By Colin Altevogt
Girls Basketball Coordinator
FORT WAYNE – It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t pretty. But in the end, the near-dream season of Class 3A No. 3 Fort Wayne Elmhurst kept rolling as the Trojans got their first-ever Summit Conference Tournament championship by downing 4A No. 7 Fort Wayne South, 60-58, in the Dec. 29 final at Wayne High School.
The Trojans (12-1) shot an abysmal 20-of-70 from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Their opponent, however, was an even-worse 18-of-70 from the floor, gave up 21 turnovers, and failed to hit shots down the stretch in an effort to draw close.
In the first quarter, Elmhurst could not clear the defensive glass. (Part of the Trojans’ rebounding woes can be attributed to the absence of 6’2” Liza Clemons, the freshman center who rode the bench for much of the game and eventually fouled out with 2:09 remaining in the game.)
That didn’t seem to matter too much, though, as the Archers were hardly able to convert inside the paint. South attempted eight more shots in the period but went only 3 of 20.
Those roles reversed in the second quarter with the Trojans hoisting up one wayward shot after another and South unable to grab the boards. Elmhurst attempted 11 more shots than the Archers in the second but converted only four of their 25 attempts in the period.
At intermission, Elmhurst led 26-25. The teams had combined to be 17 of 71 from the field with 25 turnovers.
The second half was just as close as the first, with neither team able to pull out of striking distance from the opposition. The biggest run after halftime was a 7-0 burst by Elmhurst at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters, and that proved to be the difference.
Lecretia Smith’s layup gave the Trojans a 44-43 advantage at the beginning of the fourth period, and South would never lead again.
The outcome wasn’t decided until the waning seconds, however. The Archers tied the game three times in the final three minutes, including as late as with 1:16 remaining after a pair of foul shots from senior Normalyn Smith.
Eleven seconds later, Smith intercepted the inbounds pass following her free throws. But after she missed an off-balance attempt, Trojan senior Teirenney Fincher nailed a shot outside the 3-point arc at the other end to put the Trojans up by three with 1:05 remaining.
Smith then missed a triple with 45 seconds to go, and Elmhurst senior Ebony Robinson split a pair from the stripe to make it a two-possession game.
Smith again was off the mark from long distance, but the Trojans turned the ball over after grabbing the rebound. Shavonda Price helped the Archers capitalize by rattling home a three with 16 seconds on the clock, cutting the deficit to a single point.
Fincher, who led all scorers with 16 points, sank two free throws to push the lead back to three. After faking a three, Smith drove into the lane and hit a runner after drawing contact. What appeared to be a potential three-point play, however, was ruled a foul on the floor. Smith knocked down both foul shots to again trim the deficit to one, but the Archers could not foul until 1.8 seconds remained in the game.
South’s last-second, desperation attempt was off, and the top-seeded Trojans, who came in as the only team never to have won the tournament, celebrated their first title.
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