1999 IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals
Class 4A Championship Results
NEW ALBANY WINS FIRST GIRLS BASKETBALL STATE CROWN
Unbeaten New Albany lived up to its number one ranking with a 46-41 victory over sixth-ranked Fort Wayne Snider in the IHSAA Class 4A championship game on Saturday at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
The Bulldogs, coached by Angie Hinton, completed the school's first unbeaten season at 26-0 and claimed their first championship in girls basketball. With its state crown, New Albany joins Bedford North Lawrence, East Chicago Roosevelt, Fort Wayne Northrop, Kokomo, Martinsville and Warsaw as schools who have won state titles in boys basketball and girls basketball. It was also the fourth title in the school's history and first since 1987 when it won in softball.
Additionally, New Albany joins a distinguished list of teams to finish a season undefeated. Previously finishing unbeaten were: Warsaw (1976, 1978), East Chicago Roosevelt (1977, 1979), Crown Point (1984), Fort Wayne Northrop (1986), Noblesville (1987), Bedford North Lawrence (1991) and Martinsville (1998).
New Albany spotted Fort Wayne Snider a 10-0 lead to start the game and trailed 10-3 at the first break, but climbed back into it by halftime down only 22-20. Junior Abigail Scharlow's two free throws at 6:33 of the third quarter started a 10-1 run that put the Bulldogs in command the rest of the way. Snider cut the lead to 32-31 with 6:48 to go in the contest, but New Albany, behind senior guard Kennitra Johnson's two three-pointers and two free throws, countered with another 8-0 spurt to put the game out of reach. For the game, New Albany shot just .250 from the field compared to .395 for Snider, but forced the Panthers into 23 turnovers.
Johnson, bound for the University of Connecticut next fall, led all scorers with 18 points. Maria Rickards added 10 points and Jessica Dablow pulled down 13 boards for the Bulldogs' cause. Fort Wayne Snider forward Brooke Minniear tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers.
Fort Wayne Snider finished 26-2 under coach Lamar Kilmer.
SNIDER'S MINNIEAR WINS MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD
Senior forward Brooke Minniear of Fort Wayne Snider High School was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Girls Basketball.
The team's leading scorer at 13.1 points per game, Minniear scored 11 points and contributed 10 rebounds in helping the Panthers to a state runner-up finish. She has earned 10 varsity letters, including four in basketball, four in volleyball and two in track and field and was named Academic All-State last fall in volleyball.
Speaking of academics, Minniear ranks third in her senior class of 437 students. During her high school career, she has volunteered and worked with numerous school and community organizations. She intends to enroll at St. Louis University in the fall where she will major in biology.
She also becomes the second student-athlete from Snider High School to receive a Mental Attitude Award this school year. Swimmer Michala Kwasny was the recipient in her sport in February.
Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Fort Wayne Snider High School in the name of Minniear.
CLASS 4A POST-GAME QUOTES
New Albany Coach Angie Hinton
"This game was an ugly game, but sometimes good teams win ugly."
(On 1-for-16 start from field) "We came out and shot 0-for-forever. But we just felt that if we could just hang on we could find a way. The coaching staff didn't panic and these kids have a lot of confidence in themselves. We've started poorly before -- maybe not this poorly -- but we stayed calm."
"Our game all year long has been our defense."
(On Kennitra Johnson sitting out in third quarter with foul trouble) "Kennitra made a couple of silly fouls and had to sit down. But she watched her teammates build the lead and got a chance to settle down. When she got back into the game, she was more in the flow."
Fort Wayne Snider Coach Lamar Kilmer
"Give credit where credit is due. (New Albany's) Kennitra Johnson is a great player. Their quickness bothered us a lot and we made just too many errors. We wanted to get the ball inside and we just didn't do a very good job. Once they got ahead and we had to play man-to-man, we couldn't guard her one-on-one in the open court. We got off to a good 10-0 start and then we threw the ball away and made just too many errors."
CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE
Fort Wayne Snider (26-2)
Name |
Min. |
FG |
3FG |
FT |
R |
A |
F |
S |
TO |
TP |
Suzie Hayden |
23 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
Antoinette Gregory |
32 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
7 |
Lakia Jones |
30 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
Brooke Minniear |
31 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
10 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
Sparkle Williams |
16 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Lydia Harris |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
Erin Heffner |
16 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
Jackie Knight |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Team Total |
160 |
17 |
2 |
5 |
35 |
12 |
20 |
13 |
23 |
41 |
Percentages |
.395 |
.250 |
.556 |
Team Rebounds: 5
New Albany (26-0)
Name |
Min. |
FG |
3FG |
FT |
R |
A |
F |
S |
TO |
TP |
Jessica Dablow |
32 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
13 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
Maria Rickards |
32 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
10 |
Abigail Scharlow |
30 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
9 |
Kennitra Johnson |
27 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
18 |
Lacy Farris |
18 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Jessica Huggins |
20 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
Erin Wall |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Team Totals |
160 |
14 |
5 |
13 |
31 |
10 |
9 |
13 |
14 |
46 |
Percentages |
.250 |
.455 |
.591 |
Team Rebounds: 10
Score by Quarters:
Fort Wayne Snider |
10 |
12 |
5 |
14 |
- |
41 |
New Albany |
3 |
17 |
11 |
15 |
- |
46 |
Attendance (Two-game session): 8,947
Officials: David Kavanaugh, Steve Kvachkoff