1988 IHSAA State Championship: Fort Wayne Snider 60, Noblesville 58

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• published: 04 Dec 2015
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Fort Wayne Snider defeated number one ranked Scottsburg in the second afternoon contest 62-57 and then hung on to defeat defending champion Noblesville 60-58 to capture the 13th Annual Indiana High School Athletic Association Girls Basketball State Finals Tournament held at Market Square Arena on February 27, 1988. A single session record crowd of 14,304 and 28,252 for two sessions turned out to see the Lady Panthers, coached by Lamar Kilmer, add the basketball state championship to the volleyball state championship which they had won earlier in the year. Noblesville, compiling another outstanding 25-3 record in a strong bid for its second straight state championship, threatened at the wire after Snider jumped out to a 33-21 lead in the first half. Snider rolled on to its 27th straight victory and a 27-1 record overall, but Noblesville closed the gap from 53-43 to just two points in the last 5:33 of the game. Standout junior Courtney Cox scored a game high 29 points for Noblesville, but it failed to offset the two strong 21-point performances by Donna Gill and Jennifer Herman. The two hit 19 of their 22 shots from the field and combined for 17 rebounds. Kelli Allison and sophomore Yolanda Naylor also contributed eight points each for the Panthers. The rebounding superiority exhibited by the Lady Panthers and their overwhelming inside game was the strong suit of their game. Snider set a record by grabbing 63 rebounds for one game against Scottsburg and tied a two-game total of 104 set by Evansville Reitz in 1981. The field goal percentage of .587 for the championship game and .536 for two games also set a new record for the Lady Panthers. The Fort Wayne Snider team also set state finals records for blocked shots with 17 in two games, tied the record for blocks in one game with nine , and set two more records for assists with 23 in one game and 33 for two games. Lori Stinson of Snider accounted for two individual records with 16 assists against Noblesville and a two-game total of 24. In semi-final action, Benton Central (24-0) and Scottsburg (27-0), the two unbeaten teams in the final four, bowed out stubbornly. Noblesville slipped past Benton Central 56-52 in the tourney opener only after the Lady Bison had survived a disastrous 18-4 deficit at the start and led 48-44 with 4:44 to go in the fourth quarter. Jana Thompson deadlocked the score at 52-52 and then Jenny Sigman put Noblesville ahead to stay with her rebound bucket at the 18-second mark. Cox was the leading scorer for Noblesville once again with 21 points followed by Jana Thompson with 12. Benton Central got 20 from Sheryl Klemme and 10 each from Sandy Herre and Tina Humm. The win by Fort Wayne Snider over Scottsburg in the second afternoon game was attributed to two important statistics - the Lady Panthers 63-35 advantage on the boards and the uncharacteristic 26 percent field goal shooting by Scottsburg. Fort Wayne Snider put four starters in double figures. Gill and Herman had 15 each. Naylor added 13 and Stinson 12 as the Lady Panters held 14-11, 31-27 and 43-38 quarter leads. Herman also wound up with a near record 21 rebounds . Gill had 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Cara Gullion scored a game high 38 points and Rene Westmoreland had 15 for Scottsburg on its second trip to the state finals in three years . Despite frigid shooting, the Warriorettes still threatened at 56-52 with less than one minute on the clock. The IHSAA Executive Committee unanimously selected Sandy Herre of Benton Central as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award. A total of 384 schools and 4,454 girls participated in 1987-88 state tournament series.