PLAINFIELD – One point away. One measly point.
That is all that separated Pike’s girls’ basketball team from playing for a Class 4A state championship last year. A one-point loss in the Class 4A semistate championship to state champion Lawrence North kept the Red Devils from making it on the big stage at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We’re still not over it,” Pike senior Alonna Divine said. “I think that’s what’s giving us motivation right now. The feeling of that – we all remember how it felt and nobody wants to feel like that again. We’re the top dog this year, not the underdog, but we still have that chip on our shoulder.”
The Class 4A top-ranked Red Devils are one step closer to that goal after an impressive 71-53 victory over No. 9 Plainfield in the Class 4A Sectional 11 championship on Saturday night. Pike (24-1) used its depth and defensive pressure to turn a two-point lead midway through the second quarter into an 11-point halftime advantage.
Pike was never seriously threatened in the second half, leading by double digits the rest of the way. The Red Devils’ fans chanted “Three-Peat!” as the clock ticked down on Pike’s third consecutive sectional championship.
Pike will play Lawrence Central (20-4) in a regional game next week. The Indiana High School Athletic Association will release the site of the game by Sunday morning.
“(Plainfield coach Curt) Benge does a great job,” Pike coach Keith Hollins said. “We told the team tonight that every decision has to be about the team. You have to make the decision, ‘Is it going to hurt the team or help the team?’ That’s what it was all about tonight.”
It certainly helps that Pike has one of the best examples of that all-for-one, one-for-all mindset in senior Marley Jeffers. The 6-foot Maryland-Eastern Shore recruit is a consistent force of positivity for the Red Devils. Jeffers finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in the championship despite foul trouble that kept her from playing even half of the game.
“People call me the ‘mother’ of the team,” Jeffers said. “I just try to take the younger kids under my wing every year. I want them to be successful and do everything I can on and off the court to help them.”
“Mom” should be proud. Pike’s depth is impressive. The Red Devils were led by junior guard Saniya Smith’s 18 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line and senior Alonna Divine added nine of her 14 points during a decisive second quarter. Pike had eight players play at least 10 minutes and another two see the floor for nearly a quarter.
But it is not just about depth. It is about defense. Pike made Plainfield earn everything, which was especially difficult after the Quakers had to rally on Friday for a 51-46 sectional semifinal win over Brownsburg.
“We wrote on the board Friday night ‘DWC,’” Hollins said. “Defense wins championships. If we are getting deflections and playing good defense, it will put us in position to win. They had a tough game last night and we just wanted to continue to make them work.”
Plainfield (21-6), after trailing 31-20 at halftime, struggled to get any offense going until late in the third quarter. By that point, Pike had built a 17-point lead. Hannah Menser led the Quakers with 17 points and Abrielle Dugan added 13.
It was the final high school game for Plainfield’s Berkeley Williams and Caroline Pugh. Williams reinjured her left ankle in the third quarter but quickly got it rewrapped and reentered the game and finished with nine points and six rebounds.
“It was the third time this year we’ve played the No. 1 team in the state,” Benge said. “It felt like we were prepared … we just didn’t play as well as we’d like. And a lot of that is because of what they were able to do. We were certainly dealt a tough climb in a ridiculously tough sectional but Pike definitely outplayed us tonight. I’m super proud of this team and what they have been able to overcome all year long.”
Pike did not shoot the ball exceptionally well, shooting just 38% for the game, including 6-for-22 from the 3-point line. But the Red Devils had 14 offensive rebounds, including five from Jeffers and four from Elyssa Nichols. Plainfield committed 19 turnovers, struggling to even make entry passes at times against Pike’s pressure.
Now it is on to the regional for a Red Devils’ team that is intent on making this feeling last a few more weeks.
“We realized that to get back to this next step – which we are going to do – it is just about us coming together and having our grit and being willing to work,” Jeffers said.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pike makes it three in a row in sectional. But eyes on prize for Red Devils
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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