The Carroll Lady Cougars defeated the Clinton Central Lady Bulldogs 43-28 on Saturday to win the Sectional 54 Championship.
For the second year in a row, and third time in the last five years, the Cougars cut down the nets as Sectional Champions.
“Truthfully, it means everything,” Carroll coach Brady Wiles said after the game. “That’s the one goal that you have. Sectionals are what defines your team, in my opinion.”
The Bulldogs did not go down easily. Clinton Central hung around for the first half and a majority of the third quarter.
After taking double-digit leads to halftime in their other two Sectional games, Carroll held a slim 17-14 lead at the half in the Sectional Championship.
Defense led the way for both teams in the first half. The Cougars held Bulldog point guard Carly Davison to just two points in the first half.
“We kept saying we had to stay locked in on defense, and dominate on the boards,” Wiles said.
The Cougars found success in both categories. Holding Clinton Central to four points in the first and third quarters, and pulling down 27 rebounds.
Eliza Rinehart was the catalyst for Carroll, scoring a game-high 18 points and securing 14 rebounds. Rinehart, who transitioned from point guard to post player for the Cougars this season, hit key shots down the stretch to help grow the Cougars’ lead.
“In my opinion, there’s no one in the state of Indiana who plays harder than Eliza Rinehart,” Wiles said. “You have to understand that she was our point guard last year. For her to move into a post position because we have a couple of point guards now, she has worked so hard with Adam Harness, and she dominated the game.”
On the defensive end, it was senior Jillian Salts making plays for Carroll. Salts finished with four blocks, anchoring the Cougar defense.
“We knew we couldn’t get down if Clinton Central went on a run,” Salts said. “We had to stay composed. Whoever played the hardest for 32 minutes was going to win, and that’s what I felt like we did, all 16 of us.”
The strong season for Clinton Central comes to an end at the hands of the Cougars. It marks the end of an era at Clinton Central, whose five seniors had been playing together since elementary school.
Carly Davison, Emily Long, Abby Harris, Hannah Jacobs and Emily Kocher will leave a lasting impact on Clinton Central basketball.
Carroll moves on in search of its first-ever Regional Championship and will play next week against Monroe Central at Bill Green Arena in Marion.
The game will be available to listen to on WILO.
Listen to the full broadcast of the Clinton Central vs Carroll game here:
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