NorthWood's Natalie Will made the first of two free throws with :05.6 seconds remaining and withstood a last second shot by Indianapolis Cathedral as the Panthers claimed a thrilling 72-71 victory in the Class 3A state championship game on Saturday at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

It was the first team title in any sport in school history and it came on the sixth-ranked Panthers second trip to the girls basketball state finals in the last three years. Coached by 22^nd year boss Steve Neff, NorthWood finished 24-3 and denied top-ranked and previously unbeaten Indianapolis Cathedral its first title in girls basketball. The Irish finished 27-1 under coach Linda Bamrick.

Senior guard Natalie Will of NorthWood canned two free throws to give the Panthers a 70-69 lead with :50.6 remaining. After a missed Cathedral shot and ensuing foul with :26.4 seconds left, Kasey Chamberlin made the latter of two free throws to extend NorthWood's lead to 71-69. On the next possession, sophomore guard Asjah Zinnerman hit a running jumper down the middle of the lane for Cathedral to knot the score at 71-71. Following a timeout, Will hit the first of her two free throws to give the Panthers the one-point lead at the :05.6 mark. After a Cathedral timeout at :04.4, the ball was inbounded to Zinnerman who again drove the lane and put up another running jumper -- a mirror image to her previous shot -- that rattled in and then fell out as time expired.

NorthWood placed four starters in double figures, including Will's game-high 24 points. Amy Zercher added 17, Chamberlin 13 and Carol Duncan 10. Cathedral was led by Jennifer Callier's 23 points and Sharika Webb poured in 21. Zinnerman finished with 10.

Hot-shooting NorthWood hit 30 of 47 field goals for a .638 percentage, the best in any state finals game, single or multiple class. Combined, the two teams hit 59 of their 103 field goal attempts for a .572 clip, also a state finals record in a single or multiple class game.

The IHSAA Executive Committee selected NorthWood's Amy Zercher as the winner of the Mental Attitude Award for Class 3A Girls Basketball.

Zercher, a four-year participant in basketball and an all-state volleyball player, finished the game with 17 points and 7 rebounds in helping NorthWood to the Class 3A state championship. She also was a member of NorthWood's state finalist basketball team in 1997.

Academically, Zercher ranks tied for first in her senior class of 158 students with teammate Natalie Will. She has been active as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (F.C.A.) and Students Against Drunk Driving (S.A.D.D.).

Zercher plans to study criminal justice at Ball State University where she has signed an athletic scholarship. Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to NorthWood High School in the name of Zercher.

(About last 4.4 seconds) "It was the longest 4.4 seconds I've ever sat through. The girl (Asjah Zinnerman) got off a great shot after three dribbles. It was in and out but what can you say. What a great conclusion to a great game. I did not want to let the big girl (Jennifer Callier) get it in the middle and we wanted to force the inbounds pass away from the basket. I congratulate Cathedral on a great year."

"Amy (Zercher) was concentrating on Callier to help their defense inside because we did not have an answer for her. Being down only two points at the half was good for us because Carol (Duncan) didn't play much of the second quarter due to foul trouble."

"We did a nice job on defending (Beth) Roederer too. Webb fouling out gave us more confidence."

"I've never felt so much heartache and joy in one moment. I was on the other end a few years ago (1997) and I did not want to go back there. You can't describe it (the championship). It's what you dream about and it's truly a dream come true."

"We had trouble stopping their penetration. It is disappointing to have it end this way but in my heart we are champions. It was a tremendous basketball game. I couldn't be prouder of our team, especially the seniors. They shot 64 percent from the field and lit it up in the first half. We felt they might cool off in the second half but it wasn't meant to be. I would like to have another week but that wasn't meant to be either."

(On last 4.4 seconds) "Personally I thought it was going down but it didn't. We planned to inbound to Zinnerman and we wanted to get the ball inside to Callier or reverse it to Roederer but Asjah had the lane to the basket."

Team Rebounds: 3

Team Rebounds: 4

Officials: Rhonda McGee, Robert Cochran