By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
BOWLING GREEN — Holy Cross senior forward Abby Hassert only scored three points in the championship game of the girls’ state basketball tournament on Sunday, but they made history.
Hassert made a field goal and free throw with five seconds left to give Holy Cross a 35-32 win over Allen County-Scottsville in the title game and the Indians became the first 9th Region team to carry off the girls’ state championship trophy.
“I’m so happy that we got to go out like this,” Hassert said. “This was our goal from the very beginning of the season and we achieved it with a solid team effort in all four games.”
Holy Cross won their four state tournament games behind a defense that held each of its opponents to 40 points or less. But the Indians needed a clutch play on offense to come away with a victory in the championship game.
When Hassert got the ball at the top of the free throw lane, she looked to pass it to teammate Ally Mayhaus under the basket. Then Hassert drove down the right side of the lane and was fouled as she put up a shot that banked in off the glass. She also made the free throw to give the Indians a three-point lead with five seconds left.
“I knew I had to get the ball to somebody to score,” Hassert said. “They talked about doing a handoff and me looking to Ally down low (for a pass). But I saw the lane open and I knew I had to take it because we had to score and time was running out.”
After a couple of timeouts that heightened the tension, Allen County senior forward Morgan Rich got off a 3-point shot before the buzzer sounded, but the ball hit below the rim and fell to the floor as the final horn sounded.
With his players and coaches celebrating all around him, Murphy had a catch in his voice as he talked about their accomplishment. Holy Cross is one of only four girls’ basketball teams to win the All “A” Classic small-school state tournament and the post-season state tournament in the same season.
“I’m so happy for our kids,” Murphy said. “You don’t know how hard theses kids have fought. And we dream big. We wanted multiple state championships and to see it come true, wow, it’s amazing.”
Holy Cross took a 26-20 lead early in the second quarter, but Allen County rallied behind Rich. She scored all 14 of her team’s points in the second half, including a pair of free throws that put the Patriots ahead, 32-31, with 2:29 left in the fourth quarter.
Holy Cross had turned the ball over three times on player control fouls before Mayhaus made a free throw that tied the score, 32-32, with 1:09 remaining.
Allen County had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but Holy Cross junior guard Dejah McClendon swiped the ball away from Rich as started toward the basket.
“She just kept putting it in my face and teasing me with it,” McClendon said of Rich dribbling the ball in front of her before making a move toward the basket. “We needed it back so I took a chance and I gambled and I got it luckily.”
The Indians recovered the loose ball and coach Murphy called a timeout with 19 seconds left to set up the play that resulted in Hassert’s game-winning points.
When his team fell behind in the final minutes of the game, Murphy found a way to bolster his players’ spirits.
“We’ve been in this position before, and that’s what I told them,” he said. “We just had to believe, maintain our composure and execute the little things, and thankfully we did it again.”
Senior guard Dejah Turner was the Indians’ leading scorer in all four of their tournament victories and received the most valuable player award on the state all-tournament. She had 13 points in the championship game.
McClendon and Mayhaus were the other Holy Cross players named to the all-tournament team. Mayhaus had four-game totals of 42 points, 31 rebounds, nine blocks and five steals. McClendon had 22 assists, 10 steals and committed only nine turnovers playing point guard in the Indians’ final four victories.
HOLY CROSS 9-9-9-8 — 35
ALLEN COUNTY 9-9-6-8 — 32
HOLY CROSS (33-3): Hassert 1 1 3, Tucker 2 0 4, Mayhaus 4 2 10, Turner 6 1 13, McClendon 2 1 5. Totals: 15 3 35
ALLEN COUNTY (30-5): Sutton 1 0 2, Robinson 1 0 2, Brooks 1 0 3, Rich 7 3 20, Gregory 1 3 5. Totals: 11 6 32.
Three-pointers: HC —Turner, McClendon. AC — Rich 3, Brooks.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
HOLY CROSS — Deja Turner (MVP), Ally Mayhaus, Dajah McClendon.
ALLEN COUNTY — Holly Beth Robinson, Savannah Gregory, Morgan
MALE — Ilyiah Green, Taylor Jackson.
MASON COUNTY — Whitney O’Mara, Jordan Frodge.
Graves County — Alyssa Barnard.
Johnson Central — Bailey Daniel.
Elizabethtown — Erin Boley.
Henderson County — Maci Brown
Terry Boehmker, NKyTribune sports writer, is former sportswriter and editor for The Kentucky Post. He is an award-winning writer with extensive background in both print and digital. Reach him at terryboe@yahoo.com.