Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
_________________________________________________________________________
March 1, 2008
PLYMOUTH EDGES BISHOP CHATARD
FOR FIRST STATE TITLE
Leslie Swihart’s free throw with :03
seconds remaining gave Plymouth a one point win and the 3A state championship,
the school’s first in girls basketball.
With the
game tied at 46-46, Swihart drove the lane and was
fouled on the play by Rachel Kimack of Bishop
Chatard. A .500 shooter from the line this season, Swihart
missed the first and hit the second for the 47-46 lead. Chatard’s
Megan Gardner tossed up a last second heave which caromed off the front rim.
The girls state title came a little over 11 months after the
boys team carried home the 3A state championship. It was the Plymouth girls’
first trip back to state since its 3A state runner-up season in 2001.
In a game
that featured 11 ties and six lead changes, Chatard went up 44-40 on Anne Boese’s layup with 4:44 remaining but Plymouth came
right back on its next possession as Brittany Davis nailed a jumper to pull
within 44-42. Plymouth then tied it with 1:37 left on a Swihart
layup. Gardner hit a pair of free throws with :47 left
to give Chatard a two-point edge but Jessica Centa nailed
a short jumper to even it at 46-46 with :38 seconds left.
Gardner was
fouled with 16 seconds left in the game by Swihart
but missed the front end of the one-and-one and Plymouth called timeout with 10
second left to set up its last play. The Pilgrims then
in-bounded the ball setting up Swihart’s drive
to the basket in the final seconds.
Plymouth,
led by 16th year coach Dave Cox, finished the season at 22-4. Centa led the way
with 14 points and nine boards, junior Lyzz Smith added
13, and Leslie Swihart finished nine points and seven
assists.
Kevin
Sweeney, in his fourth year at the helm at Bishop Chatard, led the Trojans to a
23-5 record. Senior guard Anne Boese finished with 15 points, five rebounds, and four
assists, while Caroline Schutzman added 13 points and
grabbed eight boards. Megan Gardner chipped in with 13 points and six assists.
JESSICA
CENTA NAMED MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD WINNER
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Jessica Centa of Plymouth High School as the winner of the Patricia
L. Roy Mental Attitude Award.
The award
is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was
nominated by her principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental
attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
Centa
ranks 13th in her class of 233 seniors with an 11.2 GPA on
Plymouth’s 12 point scale. She will graduate with an Academic Honors
Diploma this spring and plans to study pre-medicine at St. Mary’s College
in South Bend.
Besides
basketball, she also plays volleyball and softball for the Pilgrims. At the
conclusion of the softball season, Centa will have
earned nine monograms. She has been named Academic All-State in volleyball and
was a Northern Lakes All-Conference selection in softball.
Centa
also participates in National Honor Society, Pep Club, Spanish Club and
Sunshine Club at Plymouth.
She is the
daughter of Tim and Kristin Centa of Plymouth.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate
partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to Plymouth High School in the name
of Centa.
The award
is named in honor of the former IHSAA assistant commissioner Patricia L. Roy,
who oversaw the girls basketball state tournament from its inception in 1976
until her retirement in 1999.
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our
friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official photographer for all state
championship events and one of the leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE STILL AVAILABLE
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
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (
CLASS
3A POST-GAME QUOTES
Dave
Cox, Plymouth Head Coach
(on senior Jessica Centa)
“She’s
gotten better every game she’s played.
She’s been a two year starter for us and she really had a heck of
a tourney run all the way.”
(on senior Brittany Payne)
“She
played her heart out, played most of the game.
She really made some good decisions for us.”
“Bishop
Chatard is a heck of a ball team. He
(Bishop Chatard Head Coach Kevin Sweeney) does a great job coaching those
kids. They are hard to guard. I thought our offense was really stagnant
because of their defense. So give them
credit.”
“Our
kids didn’t give up when we had some key situations to deal with.”
“It’s
every coach’s goal to win a state title.
You know a guy my age may not get many more cracks at it. It means more for the kids than me.”
“We
had a really good tourney run and beat some awful good teams. There are a lot of teams home watching
tonight. We feel very fortunate to be
where we are tonight.”
(on the final free throws by Leslie Swihart)
“She
hit free throws the whole tourney in the fourth quarter. She’s a better free throw shooter in
the fourth than she is in the first.”
(on the fans)
“
Kevin
Sweeney, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard Head Coach
“It
was a hard fought physical game and it was hard for either team to get into a good
flow. There were a couple of plays down
the stretch that we didn’t execute and that was critical. But we had our opportunities and we missed
three wide open layups in the last two minutes.
Both teams didn’t want to quit or give an inch.”
“In
the first half each teams were just trying to settle down and get used to the
environment and get into their game style.
In the second half, I think we relaxed a little bit and things got
exciting and people started making plays.”
“It
was a back and forth game and nobody was able to take control with a big lead
in points. If we make those layups in
the last two minutes it’s a totally different basketball game. We put them to the free throw lane more than
we wanted and didn’t shoot as many as we wanted to. We played as hard as we have played all
year.”
“I am
extremely proud of our five seniors.
They have been outstanding the last four years. They won the school’s first three
sectional championships in Bishop Chatard history. They also got our first regional, semi-state,
and state runner-up.”
“We
had our opportunities but give