Three of country's top 10 teams take state titles in grand fashion.
Bria Goss led Davis to a second straight perfect season.
File photo courtesy of Diane Davidson/Davis High School
Those wondering what the
Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) girls basketball team would do for an encore got their final answer on Saturday.
More perfection.
The defending mythical national champions finished off their second straight undefeated season in resounding fashion with a 99-52 4A state championship win over Merrillville (Ind.) at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Bria Goss, a 5-10 off-guard considered one of the top juniors in the country, had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, according to the Indianapolis Star. She had plenty of help from Demetria Nunley-Lash (20 points), Dee Dee Williams (14 points, eight rebounds, five assists) and Vivian Holcomb (12 points).
The Giants, No. 4 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, became the first Indiana girls or boys team to go undefeated back-to-back seasons. Their 58 straight wins is also a state mark.
They also set state records for most points in a championship game and largest margin of victory.
Davis, which forced 32 turnovers, won every game this season by 12 or more points. The Giants made a strong case for winning a second consecutive mythical national crown.
The Giants finished with 1,854 points (66.2 points per game), while giving up just 960 (34.2). Goss was the leading scorer all year at 15.7 per game, but Williams and Jordan Huber were right behind at 9.2 each.
Huber had a game-high 18 points in a 65-28 semifinals win over Floyd Central last week.
Texas: Ogwumike, Cy-Fair go out in style
If Chiney Ogwumike wasn’t a National Player of the Year front-runner before she sure was after finishing her career in grand style on Saturday.
Ogwumike earned a standing ovation Saturday.
File photo by Keith Owens
The Stanford-bound senior was unstoppable, with 31 points, 18 rebounds, seven steals and three blocks leading
Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) to its second 5A state championship, this one 65-41 over
Hightower (Missouri City, Texas) Saturday before 5,198 fans at Frank Erwin Center.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the 6-3 post left Saturday’s game to a standing ovation.
“That was a special moment,” Cy-Fair coach Ann Roubique told the Chronicle. “It shows something about how important Chiney has been in Houston’s basketball over the last four years.”
It was a huge victory and championship for Cy-Fair, No. 6 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.
The Bobcats (36-1) were all business, racing to leads of 27-4 and 45-11 after the first two periods.
Cassie Peoples made 4 of 6 3-point attempts in the first half and finished with 18 points.
Ogwumike is trying to become Cy-Fair’s second MaxPreps National Player of the Year in three years, joining her sister Nnemkadi, an All-American candidate at Stanford, who won it in 2007-08.
Cy-Fair squeaked out a 54-50 semifinal win over Cedar Hill on Friday.
Illinois: No. 7 Bolingbrook outlasts No. 9 Young
The much anticipated game between two MaxPreps Xcellent top-10 squads for the Illinois 4A championship was as good as advertised as No. 7 Bolingbrook (Ill.) a 60-50 victory over No. 9 Young (Chicago) at Redbird Arena on Saturday.
Bolingbrook point guard Ariel Massengale.
File photo by Mitchell Reibel
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Junior guard Ariel Massengale, who has battled injury late in the season had 18 points and the Raiders beat Young for the second straight years in the finals
Massengale missed five straight free throws that helped Young tie the game at 47 on a bucket from Janee Thompson (15 points). Morgan Tuck, one of the country’s top sophomores who had 10 points, then started a decisive 8-1 run with a bucket and Bolingbrook (29-1) was on its way. Tuck missed much of the game in foul trouble.
The Raiders’ only loss was 57-35 to No. 5 Long Beach Poly at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. The made seven of eight foul shots in the final 50 seconds.
Young, which also lost to Poly and No. 3 Mater Dei during a West Coast swing last month, finished 28-3. This was the fifth straight state finals for Bolingbrook and third win. Young won the state finals in 2008 before dropping the last two.
Bolingbrook moved into the finals with a 56-30 win over Hersey on Friday as Tuck scored 12 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter. She also had a game-high 12 rebounds.
Young defeated Fenwick 54-38 in Friday's semifinals behind 10 points and excellent defense from Alexis Lloyd.
