Top takeaways from each team on the final day of the City girls basketball tournament

Sacred Heart-Griffin's Hannah Lambert (12) hoists the City tournament trophy following a 52-20 girls basketball victory over Lanphier at the Bank of Springfield Center on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
Sacred Heart-Griffin's Hannah Lambert (12) hoists the City tournament trophy following a 52-20 girls basketball victory over Lanphier at the Bank of Springfield Center on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

Steve Klunick emphasizes defense more than anything else.

It has undoubtedly been a cornerstone to Sacred Heart-Griffin's ongoing success over the years.

The Cyclones captured the outright City girls basketball tournament title with a 52-20 victory over Lanphier at the Bank of Springfield Center on Saturday.

It was their fourth straight City title and 12th straight win of the season. It was also Klunick’s 200th win as head coach stretching back to 2013.

They have maintained their reign over the City by simply buying in, Klunick said.

“It's different teams every year,” Klunick said. “We were more offensively skilled a few years back with (Sofie) Lowis, (Emily) Brenneisen, (Jillian) Hulcher, Addison Scarlette and that group. This team's a little more defensive and they bought into it. I think you've seen that throughout the City tournament. They really play some good defense.”

SHG shifts focus to defense … and rebounding

The Cyclones (21-5 overall, 13-2 Central State Eight Conference, 3-0 City) forced eight turnovers in the first half en route to Wednesday’s 44-26 win over Springfield High.

That nettlesome defense came up with 17 turnovers in Friday’s 45-37 win over Southeast and upended Lanphier with 22 in the finale.

SHG outscored Lanphier 20-1 in the second quarter for a 29-11 halftime advantage. That included three consecutive Lanphier turnovers against the full court press.

SHG also thrived in the rebounding department with 14 offensive boards, including eight from junior forward Maggie Fleischli. The Cyclones capitalized with 14 second-chance points while Lanphier (2-20, 0-14 CS8, 0-3) had none.

“We definitely this season started working on rebounding a lot more,” sophomore guard Izzy Hassebrock said. “And we've grown so much since the beginning of the year, especially in rebounding.”

Hassebrock led SHG with 14 points. Junior forward Callie Huston ensued with 11 points while Fleischli totaled seven points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Liv Redpath chipped in eight points.

“We've worked a lot on rebounding because we're small, so we do a lot of rebounding,” Klunick said.

Lanphier’s confidence grows

Lanphier also fell to Southeast 41-23 on Wednesday and Springfield High 49-31 on Friday but trailed by just a couple possessions late in the third quarter in both of those contests.

The Lions also jumped ahead SHG 10-9 in the first quarter before fading away with three freshmen (Aburey Beavers, Angel Price and Lovely Jackson) in the starting lineup.

Senior A’Jah Furdge led Lanphier with nine points while fellow senior Apiphany Patterson had five against SHG.

Lanphier coach Doug Collins said his young team has drastically improved since the beginning of the season.

“I think it was good experience for our freshmen,” Collins said. “I think it's a good experience for our team. We've got a lot of newcomers this year. I'm very pleased with the way we competed in these three days at the City tournament.

“I think the future's bright. We'll continue to work. We played against some very good competition over these three days, so I'm very pleased with the Lanphier Lions.”

Springfield High School's Ariana Williams shoots against Southeast during the City Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
Springfield High School's Ariana Williams shoots against Southeast during the City Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

Scheffler finds her range for SHS

Junior guard Emma Scheffler drained four 3s in the fourth quarter and rallied Springfield High to a thrilling 53-52 victory over Southeast for second place.

SHS (14-12, 9-6 CS8, 2-1 City) trailed 47-42 early in the fourth quarter until Scheffler hit three straight treys for a 51-47 advantage.

Scheffler shot 7 of 12 from 3-point range and led the Senators with 26 points. She totaled 13 points the past two games combined.

“I feel like I was more calm tonight,” Scheffler said. “The past two nights I was more like fire it up there and tonight I feel like I took my time, shot it and they went in.”

Scheffler also stepped up on the defensive end. She swiped a steal with under a minute remaining after falling behind 52-51.

The ensuing fast break put sophomore guard Megan McMullen at the free throw line with 35.6 seconds left. She converted both free throw attempts to escape with the win.

“It was scary to say the least,” McMullen said. “But I pulled through, I'm proud of myself for that.”

It’s a credit to McMullen’s toughness, SHS coach Brad Scheffler said.

“She hasn't had many of those situations and to be able to do that and knock two big ones shows what I believe in her,” Brad said.

Springfield High School's Megan McMullan shoots against Southeast during the City Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
Springfield High School's Megan McMullan shoots against Southeast during the City Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.

Spartans glean positives

Southeast (8-16, 6-8 CS8, 1-2 City) nearly foiled the comeback with a pair of steals itself.

Sophomore guard Chloe Crawford poked the ball at midcourt to briefly steal the lead with a minute remaining.

The Spartans still had a chance to come away with the win in the final seconds after Scheffler missed both of her free throw attempts with 10.9 seconds left.

Southeast freshman guard Ra’Kiyha Coleman, though, missed her game-tying free throw attempt in the bonus with 3.9 seconds left and SHS freshman forward Aniyah Rhinehouse nabbed the defensive rebound.

Southeast nearly prevailed without star junior guard Marisa Gant down the stretch.

Gant fouled out with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in the fourth and finished with a team-best 17 points. Sophomore forward Diamond Walker had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“At the end there, I had three freshmen and two sophomores out there playing,” Southeast coach Mike Collins said. “We're very young and putting them in that position. They'll just grow from it.

“That's what I told the girls. We just want to keep working towards that (the postseason) because everybody gets into the tournament, so we just want to keep building and building, and we are. We're definitely getting better and going in that direction.”

Contact Bill Welt: 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA girls basketball: Sacred Heart-Griffin rolls to fourth City title