To get to its first state championship game in program history, the Roncalli girls’ basketball team had to go through Jennings County.
It felt and sounded like all of Jennings County.
Midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s Class 3A semistate championship at Southport Fieldhouse, the Panthers’ fans were feeling it. Kansas recruit Mollie Ernstes put the team on her shoulders, staking eighth-ranked Jennings County to a four-point lead with less than five minutes remaining.
Then, Roncalli dialed up the heat on a cold February night.
“I thought we could turn up the heat late,” Roncalli coach Jason Sims said. “That’s what we did. We got a couple key turnovers and finished.”
The top-ranked Royals dialed up the defense, triggering a 9-0 run to flip the game enough to hold off a fantastic performance from Ernstes in her final high school game. Roncalli’s 50-47 win puts the Royals (27-3) in the Class 3A state finals against fifth-ranked Bellmont (24-3) on Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“What an outstanding performance by our girls and by them,” Sims said. “I think Mollie’s got to be one of the top two or three players in the state. She was outstanding. A lot of credit to them and their community of Jennings County. I know this hurts but they really represented themselves well. But I’m really proud of our kids. They showed a lot of fight.”
Junior guard Elliot Leffler scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half to lead Roncalli. Her final two points came on a pair of clutch free throws with 24.9 seconds remaining, just after Ernstes’ 3-pointer – her final points on a 33-point night – from the right corner brought Jennings County within one point.
Jennings County (20-7) had one final possession to try to send the game to overtime. Ernstes’ first attempt, contested by Reagan Turk on a 3-pointer from the left corner, was short. But Etta Young snagged the offensive rebound and fired it back out to Ernstes, who took a dribble with her left hand and let if fly again. This one was on target … and rattled out.
Jennings County’s Addison Petro tried to throw the ball back out to Ernstes again, but she was tied up by Roncalli sophomore Lola Morelli and the clock ran out. Roncalli’s players and coaches ran to center court to celebrate, soon to be followed by the student section.
“It means everything,” Leffler said. “Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to play for a state championship for my school. All I can do is represent the school on my chest and I’m glad to do that with this team.”
Roncalli trailed 42-38, its biggest deficit of the night, with 4:43 remaining. After two free throws by Leffler, Turk got a steal and layup to pull Roncalli even. Two more free throws by Lydia Stahley, after a pair of offensive rebounds, gave the Royals the lead. Another Jennings County turnover and a nifty underhand scoop by Catie Rosko, followed by a free throw by Rosko with 2:28 left, capped the 9-0 run.
“Reagan Turk is the grittiest player I’ve played with in my life,” Leffler said. “She got that steal and tied the game. Her grittiness just pushed us through, honestly.”
Stahley, a 6-2 senior who played on Roncalli’s state volleyball title team, added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Royals.
“It was incredible,” Stahley said of the environment. “I was definitely a little nervous coming in, but it was just a lot of fun, and I’ll probably remember it forever.”
The Jennings County fans will no doubt remember it, too. Ernstes led Jennings County to its first sectional title in 21 years and first regional championship since 1993. In Saturday’s morning game, she scored 21 points in a 60-54 thriller over Washington.
Sims said the idea was to play Ernstes as straight up as possible and try to make Jennings County’s other players beat them. But watching her get two shots with a chance to send the game to overtime was agonizing.
“I just have to knock those down,” said Ernstes, who scored 15 of her team’s 20 points in the first half and 18 of 27 in the second. “That’s something I practice every day. It’s just tough not to hit those in the big moments.”
Leffler shared a hug with Ernstes after it was over.
“This environment just shows how much love this community has for our team,” Ernstes said. “Small community but big heart. It means everything that they came all this way to support us. We got to semistate, which is something we never thought was possible.”
Roncalli will play in the state championship for the first time. The Royals, who defeated Northview 58-40 in the semistate semifinal earlier on Saturday, made the four-team state finals in the single class tournament in 1986, losing to Fort Wayne Northrop. The program has had several close calls since then, including a semistate championship loss to Greensburg last year.
“We’re trying to build a great program,” Sims said. “Great seasons are a byproduct of that. To have the season we’ve had, with all the work we’ve done, it feels wonderful because we’ve put so much into it.”
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: Top-ranked Roncalli breaks through, reaches state championship game for first time
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
