2001 IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals

Class A Championship Results

TRITON REPEATS AS CLASS A STATE CHAMPION

Spurred by a hot start in the opening minutes of the game, Triton successfully repeated as the Class A state champion with a 55-38 victory over White River Valley in the IHSAA Girls Basketball State Finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday (March 3).

The top-ranked Trojans (23-3) jumped out to a 16-0 lead and a trapping pressure defense held White River Valley scoreless until the 1:33 remained in the opening period. Triton maintained control with a 20-3 advantage at the break as the first period proved to be the difference in the game with both teams playing even the rest of the game.

Triton, coached by Mark Heeter, ballooned its lead to as many as 21 points in the second period and led 28-13 at halftime. The Wolverines managed to chip away at the lead cutting it to eight points at 40-32 on a three-pointer by April Williams early in the fourth quarter but could get no closer.

Elizabeth Salyer led Triton with 13 points and equaled a Class A record with 15 rebounds. Amber Feldman and Ashli Senff added 10 a piece. Feldman hit the game-winning three-pointer in last year’s championship. White River Valley was led in scoring by Ashlee Arthur’s 14 points.

(Class A) Second-ranked White River Valley, which was making the school’s first state finals appearance in any sport, finished 22-6 under coach Joe Pigg.

 

APRIL WILLIAMS NAMED ROY MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD RECIPIENT

April Williams of White River Valley High School was selected as the recipient of the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award for Class A girls basketball by the IHSAA Executive Committee.

Williams, a 5-8 senior guard for the first-time state finalist Wolverines led her team to a Class A state runner-up finish. She ranks as White River Valley’s all-time leader in assists and second in career scoring. She has also participated in track and volleyball during high school having been named Honorable Mention Academic All-State in volleyball.

She ranks atop her senior class of 62 students and serves as class president and student council vice president. Williams intends to study pre-law at Franklin College.

Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, presented a $1,000 scholarship to White River Valley High School in the name of Williams.

 

CLASS A POST-GAME QUOTES

Triton Coach Mark Heeter

"It’s a good thing we got off to a great start. That 16-0 start was huge for us. It was a one-point game from that point on. I think you can see some of the experience factor showing through there early in the game. I would like to have seen us extend it from there. We like to win each quarter."

"These girls had a target on them all year. We were No. 1 at the beginning of the year and we maintained that all year."

"Mental lapses on defense can hurt you and we had a few. We had a few in the second quarter when we could have really put them away and we didn’t. I thought after the third quarter we really did a good job of closing out and getting a hand in their face."

(On own 25 turnovers) "That’s the most we’ve had all year. We’ve really been doing a good job with our turnovers all year."

(On 40-19 rebounding advantage) "Our motto has been all year, ‘block out and run, run, run.’ We knew coming in we were a better rebounding team and we focused on that this week. We wanted to limit them to one shot and not give up too many offensive rebounds."

(On Elizabeth Salyer’s 15 rebounds) "She’s averaged a double-double since her sophomore year and we count her to get a few rebounds for us and thank goodness she came through one more time for us."

(On class basketball) "I want to thank the IHSAA for giving the girls and the guys the opportunity to do this. Obviously, we’ve had some great teams over the years at Triton. Not that we didn’t enjoy the challenge, but we had to go over to Warsaw (Sectional) to play Warsaw and the Columbia City’s. And we gave them good games but year in and year out we’re not going to be that successful in that situation. What harm does it do to give a few extra girls and guys the experience of coming down here and playing in front of a huge crowd in a great facility. It’s been a great blessing for us and its been a great opportunity."

WHITE RIVER VALLEY COACH JOE PIGG

"We made a good run starting in the second quarter I thought and continued to the third quarter. Then we kind of ran out of gas at the end. We just didn’t start the game the way I thought we would and give credit to Triton for that. I think a lot of that had to do with them being here (last year) I guess. We just weren’t physically ready at the start of the game. To me, that’s what it boiled down to."

 

CLASS A CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE

Triton (23-3)

Name

Min.

FG

3FG

FT

R

A

F

S

TO

TP

Rachel Speicher

17

3-3

0-0

0-1

0

1

4

0

4

6

Amber Feldman

20

5-7

0-0

0-0

3

0

3

5

0

10

Elizabeth Salyer

28

6-12

0-0

1-2

15

0

2

0

1

13

Ashli Senff

29

4-14

0-0

2-4

9

4

3

2

10

10

Brandi Ganshorn

29

2-4

0-1

2-6

2

1

1

1

4

6

Tommi Kreiter

2

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

1

0

0

0

0

Shelly Miller

1

1-1

0-0

0-0

1

0

0

1

0

2

Janell Salisbury

9

0-1

0-0

0-0

1

0

0

0

0

0

Jennifer Bates

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Crystal Feldman

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

1

0

0

0

1

0

Gina Westafer

17

1-3

0-0

6-6

7

0

1

0

2

8

Tracey Bell

6

0-3

0-0

0-0

1

0

2

0

3

0

Team Total

160

22-48

0-3

11-19

40

7

16

9

25

55

Percentages

 

45.8

0.0

57.9

           

Team Rebounds: 13

White River Valley (22-6)

Name

Min.

FG

3FG

FT

R

A

F

S

TO

TP

Malea Firestone

6

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

1

2

0

2

0

Lesli White

10

0-2

0-0

1-2

2

0

0

2

0

1

Christy Herrington

23

2-9

0-1

1-1

2

2

1

4

2

5

April Williams

29

1-9

1-3

4-8

0

1

4

5

4

7

Ashlee Arthur

30

5-14

1-5

3-5

5

1

3

0

3

14

Carrie Arthur

2

0-1

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Holly Halt

25

2-9

0-2

0-0

2

0

2

3

3

4

Amber Williams

15

0-4

0-1

2-2

1

0

3

1

0

2

Kayla Summitt

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

1

0

Rachel Beach

14

2-4

1-1

0-0

6

0

3

2

1

5

Ophelia Davis

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Leslie Floyd

4

0-2

0-0

0-0

1

0

2

1

0

0

Team Totals

160

12-54

3-13

11-18

19

5

20

18

16

38

Percentages

 

22.2

23.1

61.1

           

Team Rebounds: 11

Score by Quarters:

Triton

20

8

12

15

--

55

White River Valley

3

10

16

9

--

38

Officials: Larry Sintz, Greg Yergler.