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Senior forward Amber Jackson
scored 22 points to lead top-ranked Brebeuf Jesuit to
a 54-38 victory over Fort Wayne Bishop Luers in the
Class 3A state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse in
Jackson, who averaged 13.5
points per game entering the contest, hit 9-of-12 shots from the field, was 4-for-5
from the free throw line and collected seven rebounds to help the Braves
capture their first state championship in girls
basketball. The victory came 22 years after the school’s only other previous
appearance in 1982.
The game was also a rematch
of the January 24 regular season contest in which Brebeuf
Jesuit won at Bishop Luers, 56-40.
The fourth-ranked Knights
were led by Jessica Hathaway and Marie Kaufmann with 13 points a piece.
Kaufmann also pulled down six boards for the Luers
cause.
Bishop Luers
(22-4), making its record fifth appearance in the state finals in the last six
seasons, fell for the first time in five state championship contests. The
Knights won 2A titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and the 3A championship in 2002. Luers was coached by Teri Rosinski,
now in her third year.
Brebeuf Jesuit’s Amber Jackson Named Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude
Award Recipient
Amber
Jackson of
At the conclusion of the girls basketball state finals, the IHSAA Executive Committee
presents the award to the outstanding senior in the state finals
competition. The recipient of this award, who was nominated by her principal and
coaches, must excel in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic
ability in girls basketball.
Academically,
Amber is in the top 25% of her class and has been on the High Honor Roll every
semester at the college prep school. She
is a member of the Black Student Union, where she held the office of
Vice-President the last two years, and is also a founding member of the
Diversity Advocates. She was the
recipient of the 2003 Scientific American Outstanding Achievement Award and
will attend the
She
also volunteers her time with Help for the Holidays and the Lord’s Pantry,
collecting food for homeless shelters.
Athletically,
in addition to capturing four varsity letters in basketball, she was also a
participant in volleyball and track & field earlier in her career with the
Braves. She is a Street & Smith
Magazine Honorable Mention All-American for 2003-04.
Amber
is the daughter of Ms. Cynthia Jackson and Mr. Vincent Jackson of
Farm
Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000.00 scholarship to
Brebeuf Jesuit in the name of Amber Jackson.
New IHSAA Book, Play
On, Recaps 100 Years Of High School Sports in
Looking for
holiday gift ideas? The exciting new book, Play On, celebrating 100 years of
high school sports in
Team Posters And Individual Action Photographs Available
Visit 20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s photographer and the
For t-shirts and other
merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events,
visit our friends at Morris,
Inc.
State Finals Programs
Available
Couldn’t be there for the state
finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official program while supplies
last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at the IHSAA Office (
Class 3A Game Quotes
Brebeuf Jesuit Coach Kendall Kreinhagen
“Luers
is an outstanding basketball team with an outstanding tradition. Our girls
really stepped up and practiced all week with great passion and the result was
a victory in the state championship.”
“When they handed Luers the runner-up trophy I said wow, thinking that was
the first time they have received one of those.
They (Luers) are a quality program, a quality
team and coach Rosinski always has them prepared, and
for our kids to overcome that…it just makes the victory even more gratifying.”
“Amber (
(On Amber Jackson winning
the Mental Attitude Award) “That’s an excellent reward for a kid of such
excellent character on and off the floor.
I’m very happy for both Amber and Brebeuf.”
(On Amanda Quattrocchi) “Amanda is not a flashy player,
she’s not a kid who’s going to score high numbers. She does whatever she needs to do for this
team to win. I have not seen anyone who
can handle the basketball the way Amanda can handle the ball. For her to lead us here today says a lot
about her.”
(On Natalie Mullikin’s pair of 3-pointers) “I thought her second of two
three-pointers in the second half gave us a big boost. It gave us a 10-point lead and some great
momentum.”
Fort Wayne Bishop Luers
Coach Teri Rosinski
“There was no question Brebeuf was a better team. We did not get into our offense
and you can attribute that to their defensive pressure. We were a little
intimidated on offense for some reason. We never got into the flow, yet Marie
(Kaufmann) was almost unstoppable inside.”
“Fatigue was a factor and
maybe they had a little deeper bench. The size and athleticism, especially with
(Amber)
“We battled to the end. But Brebeuf stepped up like champions and hit some key shots
and hit their free throws. I’m proud of these girls and they battled back to
get to Conseco (Fieldhouse)
after the disappointment of a year ago.”
“They put great pressure on
the ball and denied the wings. We stood around and watched and that was similar
to the first encounter with them when we lost by 16 points.”
“We had some little runs,
but they had more and bigger ones. They took advantage of most of their
offensive opportunities. We needed to be better on offense because of the
presence of (Ta’Shia) Phillips and (Amber)