Lady Cougars advance to state championship

HAMMOND – Down six with 1:30 left to play in the Division IV select state semifinal, Cedar Creek stuck to what got the team this far, even when the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

But that’s what these Lady Cougars (29-3) do. They don’t compromise, even when 23 turnovers stack up like they did on Wednesday.

The ball moves (10 assists to just 8 for JS Clark), even in the face of active hands in passing lanes like it did against JS Clark, who totaled 10 steals. They fight for offensive rebounds (15-13 in favor of CC), second chances, and the better shot, even when it’d be easy to pad their stats or play hero ball when the seconds keep ticking.

The unselfish nature of the Lady Cougars carried them to Wednesday’s semifinal. With 1:30 left in their season, they didn’t waver, and walked out of the back-and-forth thriller against JS Clark with a 47-44 win – moving on to Saturday’s Division IV select state championship.

“I think Cedar Creek Lady Cougar basketball is fun to watch. We play together as a team. We have fun as a team,” Creek head coach Katie Hall said postgame. “We will work hard and I feel like we have been tested this whole season with some really good games. It’s like Alivia [Lee] said, we’re a good team. We’re going to show up and do our thing.”

The comeback began after three straight points from Avery Ryan to get the game to 44-43 with 1:04 left. Shortly after, JS Clark turned the ball over out of a timeout. Life.

Creek raced down the floor, but missed three shot attempts, but Ryan was there to scoop up offensive boards and force a JS Clark foul on her with 27 seconds left. She went 1-2 at the line, tying it at 44-44.

JS Clark came down and rushed itself offensively, missing a layup with over 20 seconds left. Alivia Lee snatched the rebound with both hands, and quickly passes it off to Taylor Martinez, who raced up the sideline with under 10 seconds left.

She saw Caroline James in front of her, as the Lady Cougars had a 2-on-1 fast break with under 8 seconds left. Martinez dished out the most important assist of her season to James, who went up and scored an and-1 layup with 1.4 seconds left.

The scoreboard changed in a flash to 46, then 47 to 44 after James swished the free throw.

On the verge of elimination to one win from history – all thanks to one more assist for the Lady Cougars.

“I think getting us to this point is trusting our teammates and making those extra passes,” Hall said. “I think it came through at the end. We shared the ball the whole game I felt like. There were a lot of unforced turnovers. We were resilient and we didn’t hang our heads. I was proud of how we kept at it, even when we had some lulls.”

Avery Ryan, who put up 15 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the win, including 12 rebounds and 2 blocks in the second half, said Creek never got rattled to the point of breaking apart, even after going nearly four minutes without scoring in the fourth.

The Lady Cougars have learned that they’ll lose as a team before winning with one. Ryan, who had just three shot attempts in the second half after eight in the first half, didn’t seem to mind her lack of points in the final two quarters. She’s energized when you ask about her rebounding effort or lack of fear in the post on blocks, even with 3 fouls.

She knew, in the end, her teammates would meet the moment.

“It gives us a lot of confidence,” Ryan said after the win. “We knew it was going to be a tough game and we were going to have to battle but we trusted each other. No matter what, we always stay together.

“I see them more than I see my sister. I’m with them 24/7. We’ve learned what to say to each other and how to encourage each other. It is a family.”

Cedar Creek led 17-11 after the first quarter by leaning on Ryan and Martinez with 5 points each, holding JS Clark to under 30% shooting in the frame with good box-outs and a full-court press.

The game got dicey in the second quarter when Creek began to pile up turnovers, struggling to get past JS Clark’s own ball pressure. Unforced turnovers caused by JS Clark speeding Creek up allowed the Bulldogs to march on an 11-0 run over the final 4:00 of the half to cut Creek’s laed to 29-28.

A big reason why was Taylor Barnaba, a junior point guard for JS Clark, who scored 9 in the first quarter and drew 8 fouls on the Lady Cougars. She had 2 points the rest of the game, thanks in large part to the defense of Caroline James, who impacted winning beyond her clutch layup in the final seconds.

“Caroline James,” Hall said of holding Barnaba in check. “She’s a force to be reckoned with when she gets her engine going.”

The third quarter was back and forth, resulting in 10 lead changes, including JS Clark pulling ahead 37-36 to enter the fourth thanks to a 15-3 run. Creek had 18 turnovers entering the fourth, including 7 by Ryan but she never seemed phased as she ran after loose balls, fought for jump balls and pulled in rebounds like her life depended on it.

Hall said Ryan’s effort beyond scoring exemplifies how Creek got this far and how one more game remains between the Lady Cougars and a title.

“Did you see her run the floor, block that shot running into the camera man. Those are the things she can do to just change a game day in and day out,” Hall said. “In the paint, she bothers a lot of shots. But the way she runs the floor is phenomenal. She’s fun to watch when she does that.”

Along with Ryan’s big game, Alivia Lee had 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals, while James had 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Cedar Creek will take on No. 1 Southern Lab (21-5) on Saturday in the Division IV select state championship game. Tip-off is set for noon at University Center in Hammond.