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INDIANAPOLIS - After winning the class 3A state championship, the NorthWood girls basketball team finished its season Saturday in the second annual tournament of champions with a 41-34 loss to class 4A champion New Albany.
The game was held in front of a crowd of 910 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
"I don't think the girls felt the game was a loss," said NorthWood coach Steve Neff. "It was just another opportunity to play one more game together. I think it was a joke and that it will be the last year for it. Amy (Zercher), Natalie (Will) and Kennitra Johnson already have their scholarships. Why should they have to put their bodies on the line? Nobody will remember the Tournament of Champions, they'll remember that we won the state championship."
The Panthers edged 27-0 Indianapolis Cathedral 72-71 in last week's state championship game. But to come away from the Tournament of Champions with a championship, NorthWood had to fend off the then-27-0 Bulldogs. New Albany left the tournament with an unblemished 28-0 record while NorthWood finished the school's first state championship season in any sport with a 25-4 record.
With two minutes remaining in the first half NorthWood had just 10 points. They also had nine turnovers. Fortunately for NorthWood, Neff was able to outshadow his team's defensive woes by praising its defensive intensity. They held the highly ranked Bulldogs to just 19 points in the first half.
"I thought we did a good job on defense," said Neff. "They're 28-0, ranked 12th in the nation, and they score a lot of points. We did a good job on defense, we had a one-footed Zercher. Our girls played hard, it was a good game."
Zercher suffered an ankle injury in Friday's win over Fort Wayne Luers and was held to three points Saturday. Will led NorthWood's scoring attack with 14 points, while Kasey Chamberlain and Carol Duncan chipped in 10 and five points respectively. New Albany's Kennitra Johnson led all scorers with 21 points. The only two other Bulldogs to score, Abby Scharlow and Maria Rickard, tossed in 12 and eight points respectively.
After trailing by seven points in the first half, NorthWood was able to come within six in the third stanza on a Zercher three-pointer to cut the deficit to 29-23. At the end of the third quarter the Panthers trailed 35-28.
"At halftime we decided to run a certain set," said Neff, "and when the TV timeout came at the 2:38 mark we hadn't run an offensive set yet."
The two teams played to a 6-6 stalemate in the final frame to account for the 41-34 final score.
NorthWood made good on just 13-of-33 (39.4 percent) field goal attempts. Will shot 6 of 6 from the field and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe in her last game for NorthWood. The Bulldogs had their woes from the field as well, shooting a dismal 14 of 44 (31.8 percent) from the field.
After the game Neff told television reporters he was excited to put his lucky blue sweater, the one he wore throughout the state tournament, away for the offseason.
"The last thing we wanted to do was play another game," said Neff. "It's been a long haul. With me in football playing until November and the girls playing volleyball we're tired. We went from August 1 to March 20, really, without a break."
NEW ALBANY 41, NORTHWOOD 34
New Albany 13 6 16 6 -Ê41
NorthWood 4 8 16 6 -Ê34
New Albany - Rickards 3-7 2-2 8, Faris 0-0 0-0 0, Dablow 0-5 0-0 0, Scharlow 5-13 0-1 12, Johnson 6-18 8-9 21, Huggins 0-1 0-1 0, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-44 10-13 41.
NorthWood - Kas. Chamberlain 3-7 4-6 10, Zercher 1-8 0-0 3, Duncan 2-6 1-2 5, Callander 1-3 0-0 2, Will 6-6 2-2 14, Morris 0-1 0-0 0, Newcomer 0-2 0-0 0, Stichter 0-0 0-0 0, Sandy 0-0 0-0 0, Zell 0-0 0-0 0, Haney 0-0 0-0 0, Kat. Chamberlain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-33 7-10 34.
Three-pointers - New Albany 3 (Scharlow 2, Johnson 1), NorthWood 1 (Zercher). Rebounds - New Albany 20 (Scharlow 5, Dablow 5), NorthWood 33 (Duncan 12). Assists - New Albany 4 (Farris 2), NorthWood 7 (Kas. Chamberlain 2, Zercher 2). Fouls - New Albany 10, NorthWood 13.
