2002 IHSAA Class A
North Vermillion
Edges
The battle between the top
two ranked teams in Class A lived up to its billing as
North Vermillion edged
With a one point lead and one
second remaining in the game, senior forward Sherri Norman sealed the victory
for the Falcons with a pair of free throws for the final margin.
It was the first state
championship in any sport for top-ranked North Vermillion, a school of 254
students, located in
Kayla Hinkle led North
Vermillion with 14 points and Allison Hughes chipped in 12. The Falcons top
scorer, Ashley Hughes at 14.9 per game, was held to two points. Hinkle also had
11 rebounds.
North Vermillion, making its
first appearance in the girls basketball state finals,
finished 25-1, including a 24-game win streak. They were coached by Ken Gentrup.
Second-ranked
The Hawks, coached by Jerry Bechtold (Lauren Bechtold’s
father), finished 25-3 in its first trip to the state finals.
Click for Final Box Score
Game Notes
Lauren Bechtold
of
Lauren is senior class
president at
Academically, she ranks first
in her class of 89 students. She has signed a basketball scholarship to play at
The award in named after
Patricia L. Roy, the former assistant commissioner of the IHSAA, who is
regarded both statewide and nationally as a pioneer in girls
athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance, the
IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to
State Finals
Photographs and Team Posters
Visit the website of 20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s official photographer for its state championship
events. The company will display action photographs from this year’s Girls
Basketball State Finals during the week following the state finals that you may
purchase. Also for sale will be team posters commemorating your school’s path
to the state finals.
State Finals Programs
Available
Couldn’t be there for the
girls basketball state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
state finals program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at the
IHSAA Office (
Quotes
Hebron Head Coach – Jerry Bechtold
“One of our game plans coming in was to attack
the basket. We thought we could shoot
from the outside, but to be competitive we knew we had to drive. We knew we could put up shots and rebound.”
Foul situation in first half
– “I thought the foul situation hurt us in the first half. We weren’t getting to the (free throw) line
and we wanted to be there. I won’t say
the game was over in the first half, but we knew we couldn’t dig a four or five
point hole in a game of this caliber.”
“I told our girls if they
were going to play one of their best career games this was the one to do it
in. My job was to pick all of their
little egos and get us on the same page.
They’re devastated and I’m devastated for them.”
On North Vermillion’s Allison
Hughes – “Allison is the type of girl that could go off for 25 points at any
given time. We were a little bit
concerned at her potential. She finished
with 12 points and I thought defensively Crystal (Duffala)
did a great job on her.”
On the last possession – “I
was under the impression that they (North Vermillion) weren’t going to let
Lauren Bechtold beat them. I felt I’d rather have someone else take the
shot and our discussion in the huddle was to use Lauren as a decoy. We knew they had three fouls to give and that
put us in a tough situation.”
On the last possession – “We
were hoping to use me as the decoy and I was fine with that decision. Our goal was to get Jennifer (
North Vermillion Head Coach – Ken Gentrup
“We overcame some adversity
this year. Our three seniors (Ashley
Hughes, Abby Gibson, Sherri Norman) have worked very
hard for years to accomplish this. Last
year this was a dream and this year it was reality.”
We’ve been in some close
games this year. We knew they had good
senior leadership. We also knew they are
as good, if not better, than we are at the line. Overall, they are very much like we are.”
“I thought the turning point
of our season was the loss to
North Vermillion Guard – Ashley Hughes
“Our crowd really gets us
going. There is no doubt that the
enthusiasm carries over to the court and helps us get fired up to play. I think we did a great job containing Lauren Bechtold. She’s going
to get her points, but we slowed her down and shut down some of their other key
players.”
North Vermillion Guard – Abby Gibson
“Before the game, we knew we
had to stay focused and play our game. We
reminded each other to keep our eyes level to prevent getting caught up in the fieldhouse and the emotion of the game. I knew we needed a
run late in the game to get our crowd going, which in turn, would get us
motivated on the court.