Once with a 19-point lead, Gibson Southern had to hold its breath at the buzzer for title.
Talk about holding on for dear life.
Gibson Southern built a 19-point, third-quarter lead over Norwell, but had to survive a final 3-point attempt at the buzzer to score a 63-60 win over the Knights in the Class 3A girls basketball state title game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Coach Kyle Brasher’s Titans (26-4) overcame a whopping 25 turnovers in the contest thanks to a record-setting performance from 3-point range. Gibson Southern canned 11 (of 20) 3-pointers in the game — the most-ever in any championship game. Lawrence North held the previous record, hitting 10 in the 2020 4A title game.
Girls basketball state finals scores: =Highlights, stats, how to watch
The Titans, making their second appearance in the state finals (and first since 2002), used their outside shooting prowess to help build a 54-35 lead in the third quarter. Senior Chloey Graham canned one of her six 3s in the contest with exactly four minutes left in the third for that 19-point advantage.
Yet, it all came down to the final seconds.
Gibson Southern’s Nola Ravellette hit the first of two free throw attempts with :09 left, but missed the second. After a timeout, Norwell worked the ball to senior Kennedy Fuelling who let go a 3-pointer that rimmed off and rolled away at the buzzer.
“There was a lot of anxiousness there in the second half,” GS coach Kyle Brasher admitted. “But, there’s also excitement, pride, joy … a lot of adjectives to describe what these girls have done.”
Graham led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Graham hit four of her 3-pointers during an 18-9 spurt to open the second half that gave the Titans that huge lead.
“I was on a roll and just wanted to help the team,” Graham said matter-of-factly.
Her coach was a bit more effusive.
“We had a lead at halftime (36-26), but for Chloey to go off like that was huge,” Brasher said. “To do that on this (state championship) stage was amazing.”
It appeared at that point the Knights were all but finished. The Norwell program had not appeared in the state finals since 1977 — a 47-year gap that marked the longest between appearances in girls tournament history.
Yet, coach Eric Thornton was sure his team would fight back and he was right.
“More than anything it’s the competitiveness of this group that got us back in it,” Thornton said. “Getting down 19 (points) wasn’t part of the plan, but it wasn’t going to continue. They were going to fight and chip away.”
Norwell (24-4) began its comeback by outscoring GS, 12-2, the rest of the quarter to pull within 56-47 heading into the fourth. The Knights kept rolling into the fourth quarter and pulled within 59-58 on a Dekota Hubble lay-up with 4:02 left.
Gabby Spink hit the 11th 3-pointer for the Titans two minutes later for a 62-58 lead, before Fuelling hit a turnaround jumper from 10 feet with 1:23 left to set up the anxious final stretch.
After Ravellette’s miss, Norwell rebounded, advanced the ball to midcourt and called timeout.
“We ran a play called ‘Hawkeye’,” Thornton explained. “We haven’t run it all year, but we’ve worked on it a lot. We got (Fuelling the ball) and got a good look. It was the look we wanted. If it goes in, we’re playing four more minutes.”
In the end, Gibson Southern never trailed and the score was tied only once — at 8-8.
Spink finished with 17 points for the winners, while freshman Paige Schnaus added 12 and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Makenzie Fuess led Norwell with 16 points, while Fuelling added 15 and Vanessa Rosswurm 14. The Knights shot only 24-of-62 from the field, a cool 39%.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Gibson Southern edges Norwell for state title
