SHARPSVILLE, Ind. – The Union City girls basketball team fell short in last year’s IHSAA Class 1A regional championship game.
It would be different this year as eighth-ranked Union City beat No. 10 Riverton Parke 59-39 in Saturday’s title affair at Tri-Central on Saturday.
“We just had that feeling,” Union City senior Kelsey Zimmers said. “We needed to win this. For Baylee (Hartman), Kora (Kerns), Courtney (Wise) and I, it’s our last time and we don’t what it to be done.”
With the win, the Indians (23-4) will face Marquette Catholic in the semi-state round next Saturday in Logansport at 4 p.m. It’s also the second regional crown for the Indians with the first coming in 2001.
“We told them we had to win every quarter,” Union City coach Sarah Black said. “That was huge. We finished out and we had a great run at the end. Anytime we have four girls in double figures that’s a great thing.”
Zimmers led the way with 20 points, while Justiss Cantu tossed in 17 and Courtney Wise and Hartman finished with 10 each.
Tayler Vauters led the Riverton Parke (23-5) with 21 points just two points under her average.
“For the most part, I thought we did what we needed to do defensively to stop their drive,” Black said. “I’m super proud of these ladies.”
The Indians led at the end of every quarter as they pulled away in the final stanza as they held Riverton Parke to two points in the last eight minutes.
Opening victory
In the first contest of the day, the Indians broke open a tight game in the final period to post a 53-41 victory over Tri-Central to advance to the finale.
“That was the key for us,” Black said. “Last year, we had a 15-point lead in the third and a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter with Tri-Central and we didn’t close out the game.”
Leading 33-32 entering the final period, the Indians not only closed out the contest, they slammed the door on the Trojans with six of their nine points in the second half coming in the last 40 seconds.
“We told the girls we had to be aggressive on offense and defense,” Black said.
The defensive trend for the Indians began late in the second quarter as the they held the Trojans scoreless for over eight minutes.
“For awhile, it was one shot and done,” Tri-Central coach Kyle Stage said. “We were just beat. Their size just wore us down.”
The Union City size came from the 6-1 Wise and 6-0 Hartman. Wise topped the Indians with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while distracting the Trojans.
“She’s a smart player,” Stage said. “She got her hand up and that really bothered us. She doesn’t move. She just stands there. You can’t combat size unless you hit threes.”
Tri-Central had four for the contest, but the long shots were never really a factor.
Hartman finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Zimmers tossed in nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Championship Box Score
UNION CITY (23-4) – Justiss Cantu 5 5-6 17, Kora Kerns 0 0-0 0, Courtney Wise 5 0-0 10, Kelsey Zimmers 7 1-1 20, Baylee Hartman 5 0-0 10, Ellie Kerns 1 0-0 2, Mackenzie Green 0 0-0 0, Kahlee Dowler 0 0-0 0, Sophia Spence 0 0-0 0, Kelsie Burton 0 0-0 0, Reagan Hoggatt 0 0-0 0, Luzy Corona 0 0-0 0. Team – 23 6-7 59.
RIVERTON PARKE (23-5) – Kierston Burdine 0 1-2 1, Camryn Clapp 0 2-2 2, Tayler Vauters 6 8-9 21, Malerie Higginbotham 1 1-4 3, Mackenzie Schermann 4 1-2 12, Grace Pharr 0 0-0 0, Anna Sparks 0 0-0 0. Team – 11 13-19 39.
Union City 15 29 47 59
Riverton Parke 13 21 37 39
3-pointers – Union City 7 (Zimmers 5, Cantu 2), Riverton Parke 4 (Schermann 3, Vauters). Rebounds – Union City 34 (Hartman 12), Riverton Parke 34. Turnovers – Union City 9, Riverton Parke 17. Fouls – Union City 14, Riverton Parke 13. Fouled out – Vauters.
Semi-Final Box Score
TRI-CENTRAL (19-7) – Kinsey Leininger 3 0-0 7, Sarah Quesada 2 1-1 6, Taylor Davis 5 0-0 12, Emily Richard 3 0-0 6, Ashley Schmidt 1 0-0 2, Nicole Sharp 2 0-0 6, Carinne Henderson 1 0-0 2, Paige Bennett 0 0-0 0, Balee Parsons 0 0-0 0, Karley McKay 0 0-0 0. Team – 17 1-1 41.
UNION CITY (22-4) – Justiss Cantu 3 0-1 6, Kora Kerns 2 0-0 6, Courtney Wise 9 0-1 18, Kelsey Zimmers 3 1-2 9, Baylee Hartman 3 4-4 10, Ellie Kerns 1 2-2 4, Mackenzie Green 0 0-0 0, Kahlee Dowler 0 0-0 0, Sophia Spence 0 0-0 0, Kelsie Burton 0 0-0 0, Reagan Hoggatt 0 0-0 0. Team – 21 7-10 53.
Tri-Central 10 21 32 41
Union City 6 23 33 53
3-pointers – Tri-Central 6 (Davis 2, Sharp 2, Leininger, Quesada), Union City 4 (Zimmers 2, K. Kerns 2). Rebounds – Tri-Central 29 (Richard 7), Union City 47 (Wise 13, Hartman 9, Zimmers 8). Turnovers – Tri-Central 12, Union City 17. Fouls – Tri-Central 15, Union City 9. Fouled out – None.