Last-Second Tip Trips Triton At Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
KNOX - You could talk about Triton's inside game disappearing for a quarter or about Kouts' role players coming through with big performances.
But Saturday's Knox A Girls Basketball Regional that saw Kouts (17-5) beat Triton (9-15) 53-51 was about emotion.
Kouts coach Susan Sanders jumping on her assistant coach, who luckily caught her. Triton coach Mark Heeter standing shellshocked on the court, hands on hips. This is what the regional was about.
For 31 minutes and 59 seconds, Kouts and Triton played to a 51-51 tie. As time ran out, Kouts center Jenni Bielinski scored to give Kouts the win and its first regional title.
Kouts had the ball the last 16 seconds. Erica Martin, who averages 22.2 points per game, missed a shot, turning the game into a volleyball match. Players chasing after the rebound bumped the ball up in the air. Bielinski had the luckiest bump of all -Êthe one went through the basket to give her team the win.
Before Bielinski's game-winning basket, the blond-haired girl with the black Nike headband suffered through a 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) shooting performance.
"It was a tip," she said. "I just watched it roll in."
Said Sanders: "I'd like to say I drew it up that way. She was in the right place at the right time."
The 6-foot Bielinski played only nine games for Kouts this season as she transferred from Boone Grove. At Boone Grove, she played guard. At Kouts, she plays center. She entered the game shooting 48 percent from the field.
"She is a move-in who came in and gave us athleticism in the middle," Sanders said. "Her stats have been better than what they were today."
How high Sanders jumped is up for debate.
"It's the highest I have ever jumped in my life," she said, "and I don't have a vertical jump."
What is not up for debate was how high Heeter jumped, because he stood stock still.
"Boy, I tell ya, we're stunned," he said. "Geez, I wish they would have hit a legitimate shot rather than to lose like that.
"They got the lucky bounce. I thought we had the rebound, we're there for it, but somehow the ball gets tipped in."
There was no debate over whether the basket should have counted, because everyone involved -ÊHeeter included -Êfelt the basket came before time ran out.
"It was a good call," he said.
Triton led 15-12 after one quarter and 21-18 at halftime, the game going like Heeter hoped it would. Triton's taller players were dominating inside, and only one player - Erica Martin - was hurting Triton.
Triton outrebounded Kouts 17-11, and Triton sophomore center Betsy Salyer scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half.
Martin entered averaging 22.2 points per game, and she scored 10 of Kouts' 18 points.
The opposite happened in the second half. Kouts negated Triton's inside advantage, and other players besides Martin - Heeter's worst fear - began hurting the Trojans.
Triton scored no field goals in the paint and was outrebounded 8-5 in the third quarter. Martin scored no points in the third quarter, but her teammates, who combined for eight in the first half, scored 22.
"We thought we had to contain Triton on the boards," Sanders said. "Early we did not do that. Once we got more confident, we did a nice job on the offensive glass. In the second half, it was one shot each time down the floor for Triton, and that was the key."
Andrea Amor contributed the most, scoring nine and coming up with two steals near halfcourt that both led to points. Her steal, layup and free throw with 2:58 left in the third quarter pushed Kouts' lead to 36-30. When the quarter ended, Kouts held a 40-37 lead.
Amor entered averaging 5.6 points per game.
The Fillies tried to pull away in the fourth quarter, but Triton's Melissa Nifong wouldn't let them. She scored eight, Triton's last eight points of the game. Kouts led 49-43 with 2:07 left, but a Nifong three-pointer and field goal cut the lead to 49-48 with 1:27 left.
Martin made a layup with 38 seconds left to give Kouts the 51-48 lead, but Nifong responded with a three-pointer to tie the game at 51-51 with 16 seconds left.
"If Missy had not been hitting, we wouldn't have been in the game," Heeter said.
Triton's strength has been getting the ball inside to Salyer, but after a 10-point first quarter, she finished with 16. Kouts played a zone defense to try to jam up the middle.
"They tried to double-team Betsy a little more in the second half," Heeter said.
"In the third quarter she wasn't open. In the fourth quarter she got open again and took shots she normally hits. They would not go in. We can't expect Betsy to hit every shot."
Nifong led all scorers with 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Salyer added 16. Martin finished eight points under her average with 14, but Amor scored 12, Mary Gonzales 11 and Bielinski eight.
"What hurt us was the other people," Heeter said. "Every other game we watched I was not concerned about their other people, but watching four games are not the same thing as playing the game.
"I thought if we kept (Martin) limited, the others couldn't hurt us. They did, and that was the difference in the game."
Even knowing only one starter graduates did little to console Heeter on this day.
"We fought our way back, and to lose like that is very disappointing," he said. "We're excited about what is to come, but that doesn't make it any easier now."
KOUTS 53, TRITON 51
Knox A Regional
Kouts (17-5) 12 6 22 13 - 53
Triton (9-15) 15 6 16 14 - 51
Kouts FG FT A S R Pts.
Martin (F) 5-14 4-4 3 2 9 14
Amor (G) 3-10 4-5 5 4 2 12
Gonzales (G) 4-8 0-0 3 3 1 11
Bielinski (C) 4-18 0-0 2 2 13 8
Howard (F) 1-3 1-2 2 0 2 4
Wilhite 2-3 0-0 0 0 2 4
Totals 19-56 9-11 15 11 29 53
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Nifong (F) 8-17 2-2 4 2 5 22
Salyer (C) 6-11 4-4 1 1 8 16
Blackford (G) 1-3 0-0 3 0 5 3
Speicher (F) 1-5 0-0 4 0 4 2
Ganshorn (G) 0-3 0-0 0 2 1 0
Feldman 2-5 2-2 1 2 4 6
Bell 1-2 0-0 0 1 4 2
Roberts 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 19-47 8-8 13 8 32 51
Three-point goals -ÊTriton 9-12 (Nifong 4-9, Blackford 1-3), Kouts 6-18 (Gonzales 3-6, Amor 2-9, Howard 1-3). Turnovers -ÊKouts 17, Triton 19. Total fouls - Kouts 11, Triton 13. Fouled out -ÊNone.
Officials -ÊLance Grubbs, Robert Filipek [[In-content Ad]]
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KNOX - You could talk about Triton's inside game disappearing for a quarter or about Kouts' role players coming through with big performances.
But Saturday's Knox A Girls Basketball Regional that saw Kouts (17-5) beat Triton (9-15) 53-51 was about emotion.
Kouts coach Susan Sanders jumping on her assistant coach, who luckily caught her. Triton coach Mark Heeter standing shellshocked on the court, hands on hips. This is what the regional was about.
For 31 minutes and 59 seconds, Kouts and Triton played to a 51-51 tie. As time ran out, Kouts center Jenni Bielinski scored to give Kouts the win and its first regional title.
Kouts had the ball the last 16 seconds. Erica Martin, who averages 22.2 points per game, missed a shot, turning the game into a volleyball match. Players chasing after the rebound bumped the ball up in the air. Bielinski had the luckiest bump of all -Êthe one went through the basket to give her team the win.
Before Bielinski's game-winning basket, the blond-haired girl with the black Nike headband suffered through a 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) shooting performance.
"It was a tip," she said. "I just watched it roll in."
Said Sanders: "I'd like to say I drew it up that way. She was in the right place at the right time."
The 6-foot Bielinski played only nine games for Kouts this season as she transferred from Boone Grove. At Boone Grove, she played guard. At Kouts, she plays center. She entered the game shooting 48 percent from the field.
"She is a move-in who came in and gave us athleticism in the middle," Sanders said. "Her stats have been better than what they were today."
How high Sanders jumped is up for debate.
"It's the highest I have ever jumped in my life," she said, "and I don't have a vertical jump."
What is not up for debate was how high Heeter jumped, because he stood stock still.
"Boy, I tell ya, we're stunned," he said. "Geez, I wish they would have hit a legitimate shot rather than to lose like that.
"They got the lucky bounce. I thought we had the rebound, we're there for it, but somehow the ball gets tipped in."
There was no debate over whether the basket should have counted, because everyone involved -ÊHeeter included -Êfelt the basket came before time ran out.
"It was a good call," he said.
Triton led 15-12 after one quarter and 21-18 at halftime, the game going like Heeter hoped it would. Triton's taller players were dominating inside, and only one player - Erica Martin - was hurting Triton.
Triton outrebounded Kouts 17-11, and Triton sophomore center Betsy Salyer scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half.
Martin entered averaging 22.2 points per game, and she scored 10 of Kouts' 18 points.
The opposite happened in the second half. Kouts negated Triton's inside advantage, and other players besides Martin - Heeter's worst fear - began hurting the Trojans.
Triton scored no field goals in the paint and was outrebounded 8-5 in the third quarter. Martin scored no points in the third quarter, but her teammates, who combined for eight in the first half, scored 22.
"We thought we had to contain Triton on the boards," Sanders said. "Early we did not do that. Once we got more confident, we did a nice job on the offensive glass. In the second half, it was one shot each time down the floor for Triton, and that was the key."
Andrea Amor contributed the most, scoring nine and coming up with two steals near halfcourt that both led to points. Her steal, layup and free throw with 2:58 left in the third quarter pushed Kouts' lead to 36-30. When the quarter ended, Kouts held a 40-37 lead.
Amor entered averaging 5.6 points per game.
The Fillies tried to pull away in the fourth quarter, but Triton's Melissa Nifong wouldn't let them. She scored eight, Triton's last eight points of the game. Kouts led 49-43 with 2:07 left, but a Nifong three-pointer and field goal cut the lead to 49-48 with 1:27 left.
Martin made a layup with 38 seconds left to give Kouts the 51-48 lead, but Nifong responded with a three-pointer to tie the game at 51-51 with 16 seconds left.
"If Missy had not been hitting, we wouldn't have been in the game," Heeter said.
Triton's strength has been getting the ball inside to Salyer, but after a 10-point first quarter, she finished with 16. Kouts played a zone defense to try to jam up the middle.
"They tried to double-team Betsy a little more in the second half," Heeter said.
"In the third quarter she wasn't open. In the fourth quarter she got open again and took shots she normally hits. They would not go in. We can't expect Betsy to hit every shot."
Nifong led all scorers with 22 points, including 15 in the second half. Salyer added 16. Martin finished eight points under her average with 14, but Amor scored 12, Mary Gonzales 11 and Bielinski eight.
"What hurt us was the other people," Heeter said. "Every other game we watched I was not concerned about their other people, but watching four games are not the same thing as playing the game.
"I thought if we kept (Martin) limited, the others couldn't hurt us. They did, and that was the difference in the game."
Even knowing only one starter graduates did little to console Heeter on this day.
"We fought our way back, and to lose like that is very disappointing," he said. "We're excited about what is to come, but that doesn't make it any easier now."
KOUTS 53, TRITON 51
Knox A Regional
Kouts (17-5) 12 6 22 13 - 53
Triton (9-15) 15 6 16 14 - 51
Kouts FG FT A S R Pts.
Martin (F) 5-14 4-4 3 2 9 14
Amor (G) 3-10 4-5 5 4 2 12
Gonzales (G) 4-8 0-0 3 3 1 11
Bielinski (C) 4-18 0-0 2 2 13 8
Howard (F) 1-3 1-2 2 0 2 4
Wilhite 2-3 0-0 0 0 2 4
Totals 19-56 9-11 15 11 29 53
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Nifong (F) 8-17 2-2 4 2 5 22
Salyer (C) 6-11 4-4 1 1 8 16
Blackford (G) 1-3 0-0 3 0 5 3
Speicher (F) 1-5 0-0 4 0 4 2
Ganshorn (G) 0-3 0-0 0 2 1 0
Feldman 2-5 2-2 1 2 4 6
Bell 1-2 0-0 0 1 4 2
Roberts 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 19-47 8-8 13 8 32 51
Three-point goals -ÊTriton 9-12 (Nifong 4-9, Blackford 1-3), Kouts 6-18 (Gonzales 3-6, Amor 2-9, Howard 1-3). Turnovers -ÊKouts 17, Triton 19. Total fouls - Kouts 11, Triton 13. Fouled out -ÊNone.
Officials -ÊLance Grubbs, Robert Filipek [[In-content Ad]]