WHITELAND – Shelbyville was mere minutes away from ending a 20-game losing streak to a top-10 ranked program.
In the Class 4A, Sectional 14 opener for the Golden Bears Tuesday at Whiteland High School, Shelbyville twice took a fourth-quarter lead over No. 8 Franklin only to see the Grizzly Cubs quickly respond.
Shelbyville’s final lead came when Ava Wilson scored off an offensive rebound with 3:51 to go to give her team a 28-27 lead.
Ten seconds later, Scarlett Kimbrell sank Franklin’s second three-pointer of the game and the Grizzly Cubs scored 10 of the game’s final 14 points to survive and advance with a 37-32 victory.
“We followed our game plan to perfection. We did exactly what we needed to do,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler. “We held them to two 3s with a team that has multiple girls make two 3s per game. We did everything that we needed to do tonight.
“A couple of shots (made) and a couple turnovers (less) and it’s a different ball game.”
In their last 10 meetings, Franklin won by an average of 30 points per game. Averaging 60 ppg this season, the Grizzly Cubs had not been held below 40 points.
So Shelbyville tried to shorten the game by lengthening offensive possessions. That proved no easy task with the speed and length of the Franklin roster that had three six-footers at its disposal.
The Golden Bears struggled early to get comfortable playing a different style while under constant pressure from Franklin. Shelbyville took just six shots in the opening quarter and had four turnovers while falling behind 12-5.
“There was a point in time where I heard to fans saying, ‘Score, score score,’ and I said, ‘No, no, no, let’s stick to our game plan,’” said Hoefler. “That was our goal – to keep it low scoring.
“It took us a second to really settle in then we held them to four points in the second quarter and that really led us into a good halftime.”
The lead grew to 14-5 before Shelbyville closed out the half with a 7-2 scoring run. Ellie Simpson, Ava Wilson and Hannah Baker sparked the Shelbyville crowd with baskets and put Franklin on notice.
Shelbyville never got the lead in the third quarter but stayed patient and frustrated the Grizzly Cubs, who were not handing the slower pace very well.
The Golden Bears’ first lead came on an Ava Wilson score in the lane that made it 26-25. Less than 10 seconds later, Aubrey Runyon, who had key minutes off the bench, answered back with a drive to the basket and score.
Nearly two minutes later, Wilson, who was battling illness and less than 100% in the contest, scored off an offensive rebound for a 28-27 advantage.
Kimbrell followed with Franklin’s first 3 since the mid-point of the first quarter and the Grizzly Cubs never trailed again.
Getting into the half-court set was Shelbyville’s greatest problem. Franklin’s aggressive trapping defense forced 24 turnovers – 13 in the second half – and racked up many more deflections.
“The last two minutes is where we struggled a little bit,” said Hoefler. “Their traps hit us a little bit on the hard side and there were a couple of jump balls I wish we had back that we could have broken their press on.”
Runyon scored again after Kimbrell’s 3 to make it 32-28. Ellie Keller sank two free throws for Shelbyville before Kimbrell followed her own miss and scored with 1:27 to go.
Wilson got a steal and attacked the lane and scored to get Shelbyville within two points with 55 seconds left but Emma Sappenfield sank three free throws in the game’s final 50 seconds to seal the win.
Wilson finished with a game-high 19 points and had five rebounds and four steals. She closes out her career with 1,213 points – fourth on the program’s career scoring list.
“Ava is actually very, very sick right now. In four years of coaching her, she has never had a sick day,” said Hoefler. “She was sick yesterday (Monday) too and she just battled through.
“She is a true baller. I have no other way to describe her. She just came through big for us tonight.”
Ella Johnson, another of Shelbyville’s five seniors, finished with four points and seven rebounds.
Franklin (21-3), with three starters committed to collegiate athletic programs, did not have a double-digit scorer in the win.
Lauren Klem, who will run cross country and track at Xavier, had nine points and two steals. Sappenfield also finished with nine points.
Erica Buening, who will play basketball at nearby Franklin College, finished with three points – all in the first quarter. And Kimbrell, committed to play volleyball at Florida Tech, had five points, two steals and a blocked shot.
Runyon, a junior, finished with six points and two rebounds off the Franklin bench.
The Grizzly Cubs will return to Whiteland Friday for a semifinal contest with Columbus North (11-12). The first semifinal Friday has Columbus East (5-17) at Whiteland (11-12), who eliminated East Central (7-17) in the first quarterfinal game Tuesday, 52-23.
Shelbyville finished 15-8 – a second straight season with 15 wins but lost to Franklin in the sectional for the fourth consecutive year. The program must replace five seniors with players from a junior varsity squad that finished 21-1 – its only loss this season to Franklin.
“My seniors, I am truly going to miss them. They are one of the best senior classes I have ever had the privilege of coaching,” said Hoefler. “They are hard-working girls, but with that being said we have a really young group (behind them) that really want to get after it.
“Our JV went 21-1 this season so I am really looking forward to those girls stepping up this summer.”
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