SHELBYVILLE — A trip to Gainbridge Fieldhouse was on the line Saturday evening as Brownstown and Eastern Hancock clashed in the Class 2A Shelbyville Semistate final.
The first quarter was close as both teams were tied at 14.
From there, Brownstown forced big turnovers and kept the high-scoring Royals to 29 total points, winning the game 45-29.
In the second state berth for the Lady Braves basketball program, they’ll face a familiar foe in Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, who defeated Brownstown in the 2011 state final.
Head coach Brandon Allman spoke on the outcome with Eastern Hancock.
“I’m blessed beyond measure,” Allman said. “God gives me more than I deserve, and I’m so proud of these girls. They’ve been disciplined and tough as nails. I’m so proud of our effort defensively. We did a lot to take away their best players.”
Sophie Wischmeier and Harley Toppe both spoke on the feeling of being part of the second state team for Brownstown girls basketball.
“It feels amazing to be here in this moment,” Toppe said. “Sophie’s already been there in volleyball. We will be ready and excited to play next Saturday.”
“It feels great,” Wischmeier said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
The game tipped with a three-pointer from Sammy Bolding. Eastern Hancock took the early 3-0 lead right before Toppe tied the game with her own triple. Toppe then buried another triple to take the lead again at 6-5 with 5:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Brownstown was then called for a travel to give the Royals back the ball. Bolding then hit another three for Eastern to make it 8-6. Makenzie O’Neal then scored an easy basket after a defensive miscue from the Braves. It was now 10-6 in favor of the Royals with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Kinzee Dean was then fouled, hitting two shots to make it 10-8. Ruby White proved to be a problem for the Lady Braves, grabbing extra rebounds and scoring at will early on.
But the Braves held their ground and battled to the end, ending up with a state championship berth.
Addison Darlage hit a three to tie the game at 14, ending the first quarter with a 14-14 contest. The second period remained with the same score in the first two minutes before Bolding hit another three.
Darlage then responded with her own three to tie it at 17. Eastern took back the lead with another basket at 19-17. Toppe then hit a big three, making it 22-19 with 3:22 left in the first half. Wischmeier added a free throw to make it 23-19 before Eastern called a timeout with 2:52 left. She missed the second shot, so it remained 23-19. That was the score at halftime.
The second half began with a Toppe floater to extend the lead to six. She then hit another three to make it 28-19 with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Toppe was left uncovered again and hit another one to make it 31-19. She was sitting at 17 points with 3:45 remaining to lead the Braves.
The score was 33-22 in favor of the Braves at the end of three quarters.
Toppe provided the offensive spark Brownstown needed, finishing with 19 to lead all scorers. She spoke on her offensive performance in the semistate final.
“Once the first shot went in, I thought it was going to be a good night,” she said.
Brownstown took over the second half, outscoring the Royals 22-10 to secure the state berth.
Both Wischmeier and Toppe were asked about their team and why this Brownstown group is a special group of kids.
“Our chemistry is very good. We all love and support each other and play for each other,” Toppe said.
“We all have the same mindset and want to finish this state championship run,” Wischmeier said.
Allman spoke on the 2023-24 Lady Braves team chemistry.
“They’re family, they love each other and they’re very close-knit,” Allman said. “That’s all you can ask for. They just do whatever they need to do to get the job done.”
Brownstown kept its hands active throughout the evening, forcing big-time steals in the second half. There was a big one with 4:30 left, as Toppe knocked it free. Brownstown held onto a lead with 3 to go before Dean added the basket to make it 42-26.
Dean was fouled again, hitting one more to make it 44-26. Wischmeier was then fouled, splitting the free throws to make it 45-29 with 1:25 to go.
That remained the final score as the Lady Braves took out the two remaining highest seeds in the tournament, Linton-Stockton and Eastern Hancock. The girls held the Royals to their lowest point total of the season, which was previously 39 against Lawrence North in their only other loss of the season.
Brownstown was on-point from the free throw line, hitting 12 of 16 from the charity stripe. It didn’t bother the Lady Braves or Sophie Wischmeier.
“Free throws never change, no matter how big the game is,” Wischmeier said. “You just have to tell yourself it’s just a free throw.”
Allman thought his girls were loose heading into the contest, which calmed their nerves throughout.
“They were really loose coming into the game,” he said. “I told them the only thing you need to hear is your teammates talking, coaches and the fans when they go crazy after we make a good play. I just thought they did a really good job.”
Now, they get a chance to finish their story and secure the crown in Class 2A at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
Shelbyville Semistate Final
Brownstown Central 45, Eastern Hancock 29
Brownstown Central;14;9;10;12;—;45
Eastern Hancock;14;5;3;7;—;29
Brownstown Central (21-8): Harley Toppe 6 2-2 19, Addison Darlagen2 2-2 8, Kinzee Dean 2 4-6 8, Mallory Klosterman 2 2-2 6, Sophie Wischmeier 0 2-4 2, Jenna Klosterman 0 2-2 2, Kelsey Schneider 0 0-0 0, Jada Miller 0 0-0 0, Kassidy Wischmeier 0 0-0 0, Claire Brock 0 0-0 0, Kassie Helton 0 0-0 0, Hailey Hobson 0 0-0 0, Hunter Trueblood 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 12-16 45.
Eastern Hancock (25-2): Sammie Bolding 3 3-8 10, Makenzie O’Neal 3 2-2 8, Kenzie Koch 2 3-3 7, Ruby White 2 0-0 4, Clara Wallace 0 0-0 0, Camryn Andrus 0 0-0 0, Kiersten Judd 0 0-0 0, Addy Trackwell 0 0-0 0, Lainee Parker 0 0-0 0, Sydney Springman 0 0-0 0, Ellie Meyern 0 0-0 0, Bella Sotelo 0 0-0 0. Totals: 10 6-7 29.
3-point goals: Brownstown 9 (Toppe 5, Darlage 2, M. Klosterman 2), Eastern Hancock 3
Rebounds: Eastern Hancock 25, Brownstown 23 (S. Wischmeier 6, Dean 5, Darlage 3, M. Klosterman 3)
Assists: Brownstown 9 (J. Klosterman 3, Dean 2, Schneider, Toppe, M. Klosterman, S. Wischmeier), Eastern Hancock 6
Steals: Brownstown 11 (M. Klosterman 3, S. Wischmeier 2, Schneider, Toppe, J. Klosterman), Eastern Hancock 5
Turnovers: Eastern Hancock 15, Brownstown 10
Fouls: Eastern Hancock 14, Brownstown 8