Andrean holds off Bearcat rally to win Wheeler Holiday Tourney, 45-36 over hosts in overtime

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
12-30-2006

Thursday, December 28, 2006 - Wheeler Holiday Tournament

ANDREAN (45)  Meagan Stickler 1-0-2, Val Tyburski 7-2-16, Kelleigh McCrea 2-2-6, Michelle Hynes 2-3-8, Courtney Piskhur 1-1-3, Annie Hovanec 5-0-10, Jacklyn Gonzalez 0-0-0, Amy Blane 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  18 (8-11, 72.7%) 45.

WHEELER (36)  Becca Bruszewski 9-6-24, Emilie Naccarato 2-0-6, Indy Roper 1-0-2, Brittany Stelter 2-0-4, Jacquelyn English 0-0-0, Courtney Dixon 0-0-0, Lydia Naccarato 0-0-0, Serina Garcia 0-0-0.  TOTALS:  14 (6-8, 75%) 36.

FREE THROWS:  ANDREAN (8-11, 72.7%) Pishkur 1-1, Tyburski 2-2, Hynes 3-4, Gonzalez 0-2. McCrea 2-2.  WHEELER (6-8, 75%) Bruszewski 6-6, Stelter 0-2.

3-GOALS:  ANDREAN (1) Michelle Hynes;  WHEELER (2) Emilie Naccarato 2.

UNION TOWNSHIP (12-28-2006) - You don't want to make too much of it because the 'real' games don't start for another month.  But to win in the Indiana state basketball playoffs, you have to win tournaments.  Six games.  Four games.  If you don't win any tournaments all season, it's hard to call yourself a contender for any kind of championship.

Up steps Andrean.  On the road.  Over the holidays.  Trailing big in one game.  Losing a small lead in another.  The 59ers won.  Twice.  Andrean came from 12 points behind to beat Hammond 57-46 to reach the final game of the Wheeler Holiday Tournament and then beat the host Bearcats 45-36 in overtime Thursday to win the championship.  Officially now, it's not an overstatement to call Andrean a regional championship contender.

"I think now that we're older," said senior Meagan Stickler, who played through two close games in 24 hours and was strong at the end. "We've played a lot of tight games.  At the start of this season, we played Merrillville and West Side.  We held our composure and we came through.  I think it's because we've played together so long.  We trust each other."

That trust had to come up twice in the Wheeler tournament.  First, when the 59ers trailed 33-22 to Hammond in the semifinals and roared from behind to win by 11.  Second, when 2A No. 10 Wheeler (11-2), after trailing all night, rallied to tie the game 34-34 on a three-point shot by Emilie Naccarato with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter.

The gym was loud and Wheeler had the last shot.  The 59ers covered up the Bearcats' 6-foot-2 all-stater Becca Bruszewski and Courtney Dixon's would-be game-winning shot bounced out at the buzzer.  Andrean scored the first 11 points of the overtime period and won, in the final moments, almost easily.

"The thing is," said coach Ken Markfull, "we have played a lot of good teams.  And we've played a lot of different kinds of teams.  And we've been successful against those teams.  That makes a difference when we're in situations like this.  We've been in situations like this before.  We're just getting more confident."

This was not a game that Andrean won because Wheeler didn't play well.  The 59ers used long, slow possessions and the front court play of 6-foot-2 Annie Hovanec to stay ahead for 3 1/2 quarters.  Junior guard Kelleigh McCrea did a strong defensive job against Bruszewski on the perimeter and Hovanec cleared the boards.  The Bearcats, who have lost only to Hammond (9-6) and Andrean, fell behind quickly, but never let the lead get out of hand.  With the 59ers' defensive game plan centered on Bruszewski (22 ppg.), who finished with 24 points, Wheeler got a competent effort out of everyone else, especially sister guards Lydia and Emilie Naccarato, to stay within range until they could make a move.

With Andrean leading 28-23, Wheeler coach Doug Springer called for a '1-4' offense with four players parallel to the baseline and your top scorer out front.  Bruszewski pulled up for a 15-footer to cut the lead to three.  The Wheeler senior then stole a pass and dribbled the length of the floor to score and make it 28-27.  Next time down the floor Bruszewski blocked Hovanec's shot from behind creating a possession where she got fouled.  Her two free throws gave Wheeler its first lead at 29-28 with 3:59 left in the game.

The 59ers got Hovanec an open shot on the baseline and she scored from 10 feet out to give the visitors the lead again.  Stickler stole the ball from Emilie Naccarato and scored to make it 32-29.  After Michelle Hynes hit two free throws to give Andean a 34-31 lead with 1:28 left, Wheeler brought the ball up the floor and looked for Bruszewski.  The ball got kicked out to the wing where Emilie Naccarato hit a three-point shot to tie the game with 1:08 left.

After a time out, Andrean got an open three-point shot for Courtney Pishkur that kicked in and out with 55 seconds to play, giving Wheeler the last chance.  But the ball again could not get to Bruszewski and guard Courtney Dixon, who went scoreless, barely missed a three-point shot as the fourth quarter clock ran out.

"I think that was a tribute to our defense," said Markfull.  "We told Kelleigh (McCrea) just to not let her get the basketball.  She did a great job.  And the other kids kept pressure on the guards out high, so they couldn't just stand there and get it into her (Bruszewski) easily."

"First four minutes of the third quarter, we had good looks but nothing was falling," recalled Markfull.  "They made their run and tied it up and we just came back in overtime.  In overtime, we trapped a little and a coach can cut his own throat with that because it creates odd man situations.  But the kids did a great job. 11-2 is outstanding.  We got great shots and made our free throws."

"The other kid I've got to talk about is McCrea, (and) the job she did against Bruszewski," added the Andrean coach.  "She was 9-out of 23.  That's great.  Kelleigh McCrea made every shot she took a tough one."

Nothing Wheeler did gave any indication they will not be a co-favorite with PCC leader Boone Grove (12-1) at the 2A Lake Station Sectional in February.  The Bearcats have better floor balance this season because of Emilie Naccarato, the 5-foot-4 transfer from Valparaiso, who takes a lot of the ball handling duties away from Bruszewski, who is a natural wing player. Wheeler has more size up front this year with 5-10 freshman Brittany Stelter and 5-10 sophomore Jacquelyn English who allow Bruszewski to roam.  But on this night, Andrean's experience beat Wheeler's youth.

"We ran a diamond and one on Becca," Stickler said.  "We just tried to keep the ball away.  We really worked on her spin move and she's got that down to a 'T'.  We just tried to switch on her and collapse on her in the post.  This is the first time we've won this tournament.  It's nice to beat Wheeler here."

Courtney Pishkur said that everybody could have gone home a half hour earlier if she'd have hit her three-point shot with a minute left, but she added, "Coach says whenever you have an open shot you have to take it.  He's got a lot of confidence in us.  When I missed he just said I was unlucky."

Andrean is getting to the point where being unlucky still isn't stopping them.

TOURNEY NOTES:  The win over Wheeler was the eighth in a row for the 59ers and it's easy to point to Andean's last loss, 66-55 at 3A No. 4 St. Joseph's (11-1) on Nov. 28 and call it a moral victory that boosted Andrean's confidence.  Especially since St. Joe beat Andrean by 35 points at Andrean last season.  They may not see it that way.

"I think we went out there with a chance," said Meagan Stickler.  "It hit us hard when we lost.  We know they have all those great players, but we really thought we had a chance.  I still think we have a chance to beat them if we can get to play them again."

Markfull says that 6-foot-2 Annie Hovanec gives his other girls a margin for error.

"Before we had her," said the Andrean coach, who got Hovanec back after two years away from basketball, "we had to be perfect defensively.  You saw what she did.  She challenged the big kid inside."

Andrean's Val Tyburski led her side with 16 points against Wheeler after scoring 15 of her 19 against Hammond in the second half rally.

"She's a kid who will take a big shot when we need it," said Markfull.  "And we rely on her to do that sometimes.  I actually think we have five kids on the floor who can all take the last shot.  I told them, if you've got an open shot, take the shot."

Markfull singled out the shot taken by Courtney Pishkur in a tie game with a minute to play.

"She's going to make that shot more often than she's going to miss it."

The 2002 Andrean team won 12 games in a row on the way to an 19-5 sectional championship season.  Andrean won four consecutive games to win the Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) tournament in early December.  The 59ers' win over Hammond was their second this season.  Andrean beat Hammond 43-38 on Dec. 9 in the semifinals of the 16-team LAC playoffs.   Andrean will play Hammond again on Jan. 25 and the two schools could meet a fourth time in the Twin Lakes Regional in February.

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Revised: December 30, 2006 .