Girls House Basketball Championship: Hoosiers Defeat Blue Devils, 24-23

By Kat McKay

 Action during the Championship game

It always seemed like it would come to this-- the Hoosiers had champion in their system since they got started.

But it didn’t ever seem like it would be this close.

Last night, the South gym at DHS was decked with fans, mostly teenagers, for the league’s 9:00pm final game. The court was covered in sport’s classic opposing colors—the Hoosiers in red, the Blue Devils in blue (what else). There were two referees, homemade signs, and most importantly, championship t-shirts and trophies waiting in the wings.

With the stage set, the game began—but slowly. For the first four minutes, neither team scored. I had never actually seen a Hoosiers game in the flesh, so the group I had been reporting as scoring disgustingly more than everyone was not performing up to (imagined) par. Maybe this was nerves. But maybe it had to do more with something I’d been missing all season—the Blue Devils’ excellent defense.

Seniors Kristy Gilbert and Riley Sousa have speed, athleticism, and a sort of nuanced understanding of each other and the game. The ideal means to stop this would be size and aggression, which the Blue Devils have in seniors Evie Horn and Caylee Waters and junior Phoebe Taylor. These two elements lined up pretty well, so that when the first team got on the scoreboard it was the Blue Devils on a penalty shot.

From there, things heated up. Kristy Gilbert scored her team’s first eleven points (!!) before other players started contributing. The Blue Devils lost their early 5-1 lead and never got it back.

At halftime, the score was 16-13. The rest of the game was give-and-take. I don’t have official stats, but it seemed as if neither team lead by more than three points at any time in the second half. When it came down to the wire, the Hoosiers had a shaky lead. With maybe three minutes left to play, they were winning 24-20.

Then the Blue Devils picked it up. By the final 1:30, it was 24-23. The entire gym was on edge—every time the ball rocketed from one side of the court to the other, the game was on the line. The players were aware of this. Blue Devils junior Julia Black had a very late breakaway, bounding to the basket nearly solo with about forty seconds left. Her layup missed. Caylee Waters got the rebound, which bounced off the rim. Then something wild happened. Whatever was going on in the middle of the action caused the ball to literally roll out of everyone’s attention. It got almost to half-court before the whistle blew. The coaches and fans were screaming.

With 7.8 seconds on the clock, the Blue Devils called a timeout. They preserved that time so they could make a basketball Hail Mary, some final play to carry them through. The game resumed, the ball was everywhere, and then, finally, it was in the hands of Riley Sousa.

It was over. The Hoosiers won, 24-23.

Congratulations to the entire Hoosiers team, which consists of the players I have mentioned along with junior Allie Parsley, sophomores Julia Boccuzzi, Wynn Hollis, Maddie Burke, and freshman Belle Stobbie. Their coach was Mr. Burke. They had been number one in my rankings for a very long time.

I also extend a very, very big congratulations to the Blue Devils. It’s embarrassing to remember, but for a while I had them placing last. This was wrong. They came back from a weak start to finish better than almost anybody else. The Blue Devils roster includes the players I mentioned already, seniors Julia Luz and Sami Neville, and junior Jackie Riordan. They were coached by Mrs. Horn and Mr. Waters.

This post marks the end of the 2012-2013 Girls House Basketball season, but also my tenure as its reporter. It has been a great time.

The Hoosiers' championship huddle

The score at halftime