NorthWood Girls Keep On Winning
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
INDIANAPOLIS -ÊThe officials were the story of the night as NorthWood (3A) defeated Fort Wayne Luers (2A) 62-61 in the first round of the tournament of champions Friday night.
When asked about the game's officiating, NorthWood girls basketball coach Steve Neff quickly answered, "No comment." But Luers coach Gary Andrews had a bit more to say about the whole situation.
"We really got screwed," said Andrews. "The officiating in this game was a travesty. You would think they would have officials worthy of a tournament of champions. I was upset with the obvious fouls.
"When somebody gets their arm ripped off, it is usually a foul, but apparently not tonight.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to take anything away from NorthWood. They are the best offensive team we have played all year. They are very athletic, and they handled the ball well. They were tall and could see over our trap."
"I was planning on coming in here and enjoying the game, kicking my foot up on the step in from of the seats and relaxing," said Neff. "Well, I lost that theory about one minute into the game.
"I told the girls that I was not gonna let them not care about this game. If I'm into the game, they're into the game more, so I got a little excited."
NorthWood started the game on the right foot as Natalie Will blocked a Luers shot, and the Panthers moved the ball down the court. After an Angie Callander layup, the NorthWood squad was up 2-0.
Luers answered with a layup of its own, and the race was on.
NorthWood went up by as many as five points, but by the end of the first, just two points separated the teams.
Heading into the second frame, NorthWood held a slim 11-9 advantage, but the Panthers increased their lead to six after Will netted two basets from the charity stripe to make the score 15-9 with 7:19 remaining in the first half.
However, the Knights refused to give in and built a three-point lead of their own with 4:52 left in the second stanza.
But the Panthers came back to show how they earned the Class 3A state championship and took a 27-20 lead into the lockers at halftime.
In the second half, NorthWood continued their offensive attack and built an 11-point lead just over one minute into the third frame on a layup by Kasey Chamberlin.
Luers managed to reduce its deficit to four with 3:26 left in the third, but by the end of the quarter, the Panthers had restored their 11-point lead, 46-35.
NorthWood built its lead to 14 after Carol Duncan netted a layup with
5:51 left in regulation, but Luers had some fight left in them.
The Knights steadily chipped away at the Panther lead for the next four
and a half minutes until they were down by five with 1:36 left on the
clock.
Kasey Chamberlin hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:32 left in the fourth to
give NorthWood a six-point lead, but Luers moved the ball down the court
to Rachel King who nailed a trhree-pointer with 19 ticks left on the
clock to make it a one possession game.
After another Luers fouls, NorthWood missed both ends of the double
bonus, and the Knights pulled down the rebound with 14 second left in
regulation.
Luers moved the ball to their end of the floor and got the ball to King
who tossed up the final shot. The ball sailed through the basket and
Luers began to celebrate sending the game into overtime, but the
officials ruled that King's foot was over the three-point line. The shot
was ruled a two-pointer, and NorthWood left the court with a one-point
victory.
"I thought she (King) was fouled on the shot," said Andrews, "but most
referees don't have the guts to call that foul at the end of the game."
"One, two feet, a big toe, a toenail, I don't care how far she was over
the line, I'm just glad she was," said Neff.
Will led all scorers with 31 points, while Chamberlin and Zercher each
added 11.
"It was a total team effort," said Will. "We all worked hard everyday in
practice. We knew what we had to do, and we came out and did it."
"We're gonna come back and try to get up again tomorrow," said Neff.
"This will be the last time this group will get to play together as a
unit. It's definitely the last one. And I'll be happy to coach them in
one more game."
Neff and the NorthWood girls will get their last opportunity to play
together as they hit the court again today at 4:05 p.m. in the final
round of the Tournament of Champions.
NorthWood 62, FW Luers 61
NorthWood FG FT R A S Pts.
Kasey Chamberlin 5-7 1-2 3 2 2 11
Amy Zercher 2-7 7-9 8 8 2 11
Carol Duncan 3-5 1-2 8 2 0 7
Angela Callander 1-4 0-2 0 1 0 2
Natalie Will 10-15 11-12 7 3 8 31
Andee Morris 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Michelle Stichter 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Erin Newcomer 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 21-40 20-27 26 17 12 62
FW Luers FG FT R A S Pts.
Emily Loomis 5-10 2-2 3 0 0 12
Sara Schaefer 2-9 3-4 9 0 0 7
Jennie Moppert 6-15 1-1 6 2 7 15
Rachel King 8-16 1-1 8 6 1 19
Krishna Snyder 2-3 0-0 1 2 1 5
Catie Wyss 1-3 0-0 1 2 1 3
April Wyss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Emily Zoch 0-3 0-0 0 0 1 0
Megan Dossen 0-1 0-1 2 0 0 0
Totals 24-60 7-9 34 12 10 61
Three-point goals - NorthWood 0-4 (Zercher 0-1, Callander 0-2, Will
0-1), Luers 6-15 (Moppert 2-6, King 2-5, Snyder 1-2, C. Wyss 1-2).
Turnovers - NorthWood 18, Luers 19. Total fouls - NorthWood 14, Luers
22. Fouled out - Moppert. [[In-content Ad]]
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INDIANAPOLIS -ÊThe officials were the story of the night as NorthWood (3A) defeated Fort Wayne Luers (2A) 62-61 in the first round of the tournament of champions Friday night.
When asked about the game's officiating, NorthWood girls basketball coach Steve Neff quickly answered, "No comment." But Luers coach Gary Andrews had a bit more to say about the whole situation.
"We really got screwed," said Andrews. "The officiating in this game was a travesty. You would think they would have officials worthy of a tournament of champions. I was upset with the obvious fouls.
"When somebody gets their arm ripped off, it is usually a foul, but apparently not tonight.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to take anything away from NorthWood. They are the best offensive team we have played all year. They are very athletic, and they handled the ball well. They were tall and could see over our trap."
"I was planning on coming in here and enjoying the game, kicking my foot up on the step in from of the seats and relaxing," said Neff. "Well, I lost that theory about one minute into the game.
"I told the girls that I was not gonna let them not care about this game. If I'm into the game, they're into the game more, so I got a little excited."
NorthWood started the game on the right foot as Natalie Will blocked a Luers shot, and the Panthers moved the ball down the court. After an Angie Callander layup, the NorthWood squad was up 2-0.
Luers answered with a layup of its own, and the race was on.
NorthWood went up by as many as five points, but by the end of the first, just two points separated the teams.
Heading into the second frame, NorthWood held a slim 11-9 advantage, but the Panthers increased their lead to six after Will netted two basets from the charity stripe to make the score 15-9 with 7:19 remaining in the first half.
However, the Knights refused to give in and built a three-point lead of their own with 4:52 left in the second stanza.
But the Panthers came back to show how they earned the Class 3A state championship and took a 27-20 lead into the lockers at halftime.
In the second half, NorthWood continued their offensive attack and built an 11-point lead just over one minute into the third frame on a layup by Kasey Chamberlin.
Luers managed to reduce its deficit to four with 3:26 left in the third, but by the end of the quarter, the Panthers had restored their 11-point lead, 46-35.
NorthWood built its lead to 14 after Carol Duncan netted a layup with
5:51 left in regulation, but Luers had some fight left in them.
The Knights steadily chipped away at the Panther lead for the next four
and a half minutes until they were down by five with 1:36 left on the
clock.
Kasey Chamberlin hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:32 left in the fourth to
give NorthWood a six-point lead, but Luers moved the ball down the court
to Rachel King who nailed a trhree-pointer with 19 ticks left on the
clock to make it a one possession game.
After another Luers fouls, NorthWood missed both ends of the double
bonus, and the Knights pulled down the rebound with 14 second left in
regulation.
Luers moved the ball to their end of the floor and got the ball to King
who tossed up the final shot. The ball sailed through the basket and
Luers began to celebrate sending the game into overtime, but the
officials ruled that King's foot was over the three-point line. The shot
was ruled a two-pointer, and NorthWood left the court with a one-point
victory.
"I thought she (King) was fouled on the shot," said Andrews, "but most
referees don't have the guts to call that foul at the end of the game."
"One, two feet, a big toe, a toenail, I don't care how far she was over
the line, I'm just glad she was," said Neff.
Will led all scorers with 31 points, while Chamberlin and Zercher each
added 11.
"It was a total team effort," said Will. "We all worked hard everyday in
practice. We knew what we had to do, and we came out and did it."
"We're gonna come back and try to get up again tomorrow," said Neff.
"This will be the last time this group will get to play together as a
unit. It's definitely the last one. And I'll be happy to coach them in
one more game."
Neff and the NorthWood girls will get their last opportunity to play
together as they hit the court again today at 4:05 p.m. in the final
round of the Tournament of Champions.
NorthWood 62, FW Luers 61
NorthWood FG FT R A S Pts.
Kasey Chamberlin 5-7 1-2 3 2 2 11
Amy Zercher 2-7 7-9 8 8 2 11
Carol Duncan 3-5 1-2 8 2 0 7
Angela Callander 1-4 0-2 0 1 0 2
Natalie Will 10-15 11-12 7 3 8 31
Andee Morris 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Michelle Stichter 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Erin Newcomer 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 21-40 20-27 26 17 12 62
FW Luers FG FT R A S Pts.
Emily Loomis 5-10 2-2 3 0 0 12
Sara Schaefer 2-9 3-4 9 0 0 7
Jennie Moppert 6-15 1-1 6 2 7 15
Rachel King 8-16 1-1 8 6 1 19
Krishna Snyder 2-3 0-0 1 2 1 5
Catie Wyss 1-3 0-0 1 2 1 3
April Wyss 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Emily Zoch 0-3 0-0 0 0 1 0
Megan Dossen 0-1 0-1 2 0 0 0
Totals 24-60 7-9 34 12 10 61
Three-point goals - NorthWood 0-4 (Zercher 0-1, Callander 0-2, Will
0-1), Luers 6-15 (Moppert 2-6, King 2-5, Snyder 1-2, C. Wyss 1-2).
Turnovers - NorthWood 18, Luers 19. Total fouls - NorthWood 14, Luers
22. Fouled out - Moppert. [[In-content Ad]]