CAMPBELLSBURG — The magic season came to an end for Trinity Lutheran’s girls basketball team Saturday.
In the West Washington Regional championship, the Cougars fell to Class A No. 2-ranked Vincennes Rivet 52-36.
Five straight points from Piper Acton gave the Cougars a 5-2 lead with 4:11 left in the first quarter. The Patriots answered with an 8-0 run which gave Rivet a 10-5 led with 3:01 left in the first quarter. Following a basket by Abby Hackman, the Patriots scored six unanswered points to lead 16-7 at the end of eight minutes of play.
In the opening quarter, Trinity turned the ball over eight times and racked up five quick fouls. Rivet went on a 10-3 run through the first four minutes of the second quarter to lead 26-10.
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A 3-pointer by Jaynes, basket by Savannah Harweger and free throw by Jodi Goecker then cut the Cougars’ deficit to 12 points with 2:09 left in the half. At the break, the Patriots held a 29-16 lead.
Rivet went on an 11-2 to open the third quarter to build a 38-20 lead. In the final 3:48 of the quarter, Trinity responded. The Cougars tacked on 11 points — led by 3-pointers by Jaynes and Harweger — to cut the deficit to 46-32 going into the fourth quarter.
In the final eight minutes, neither team could find the basket, and the Patriots outscored Trinity 6-4.
Abby Hackman led the Cougars with 12 points.
Trinity ended its season with a school record 22 wins en route to an Elite Eight finish in Class A. Cougars coach Mike Lang said that this year’s team left a legacy for the program, and the seniors will be sorely missed.
Trinity came up clutch in the final minutes of play to come away with a 43-41 semifinal win against Northeast Dubois (17-8) on Saturday afternoon.
Tied at 38, with 1:19 left, Jaynes scored on an up-and-under to give the Cougars the lead.
“We told Sydney at halftime that the best defender out there guarding her is in her head,” Lang said. “They couldn’t stop Syd. We told her to use the moves we worked on in practice, and that’s what she did.
Following a stop, Trinity made one of two free throws to push the lead to three with 1:04 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Harweger blocked a Jeeps 3-point attempt and the got the ball into Hackman’s hands.
Hackman went to the line and sank both free throws with 10.9 seconds left to help pad the lead. Northeast Dubois’ Clare Mangin drilled a 3-pointer as time expired to make it a two-point game, but the shot proved too late for a comeback.
“I will take those kids in those positions (at the end) all day long. We got it where we wanted it, and Abby sealed the deal,” Lang said. “It started with our defensive pressure up top — not letting their shooters get good looks. They paid attention in the huddle, went out, and executed.”
In a low-scoring first quarter, the Cougars fell behind by five points before baskets by Hackman and Bell tied the game at seven with 53 seconds left in the period. Goecker then hit one from deep with three seconds left to put Trinity up 10-7.
A 7-0 Cougars run extended the lead to 19-10, but the Jeeps answered. In the final 3:17 of the first half, Northeast Dubois scored 10 unanswered points behind four different scorers to lead 20-19 at the break.
Out of halftime, the teams traded the lead twice, and were tied as many times, before a 3-pointer by Goecker put the Cougars on top 28-27 by the 2:30 mark. A basket by Kortney Quinn gave the Jeeps the lead back at 31-30 with two ticks left in the third quarter.
Down 37-35, Harweger hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give Trinity the lead back at 38-37 with 3:40 left in the game. Down the stretch, the Cougars came up in the clutch.
Hackman led Trinity with 13 points. Both teams finished with 19 rebounds, and the Cougars committed only eight turnovers.
