EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Riley Terwilliger was wide open with Saturday’s Class D state title game on the line, but she wasn’t sure about the 3-point try she let go.
“I was shocked,” she said of the go-ahead basket that gave Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart the lead for good with 25 seconds left. “I thought it was going to be short.”
It wasn’t, and the Fighting Irish capped a late-game rally with a 56-53 victory over Crystal Falls Forest Park and the school’s first girls’ basketball state championship.
Sacred Heart (22-5) outscored the Lady Trojans 14-3 in the final three minutes to erase a 50-42 deficit and claim the title. Center Averi Gamble scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Sara Hansen added 14 points and three steals.
“Wow,” coach Damon Brown said. “The way these girls battled was amazing.”
Forest Park’s Lexi Gussert, crowned the state’s Miss Basketball earlier in the week, had a chance to tie the game at the line with 16 seconds left but missed both free throws. The senior, who will continue her career at Michigan State next season, had 17 points on 7-for-21 shooting.
“Their pressure was tough but I had some really good looks and just couldn’t finish,” said Gussert, who also had 12 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Forest Park had five turnovers in the final period, including a botched inbounds pass that Terwilliger snatched and converted to make it 50-49 with a little more than a minute left. Her subsequent 3-pointer was the team’s only make from beyond the arc in 11 tries.
Terwilliger finished with 11 points and four steals. The Irish turned 16 Forest Park turnovers into 14 points.
The unbeaten Lady Trojans led 43-38 at the end of the third quarter with plenty of help from Gussert, but managed just four field goals in the final eight minutes. The loss ended Forest Park’s season-long winning streak at 26 games.
“We unraveled a little bit at the end,” said coach Jeff Syrjanen, whose team won all of its games by double digits on the way to the finals. “It’s a very tough loss.”
Sacred Heart shot just 39 percent from the floor but stayed close throughout the morning thanks to Gamble, who had seven offensive rebounds and converted several shots near the basket while her teammates struggled from farther out.
“You can’t stop her in the post,” Brown said. “When she gets the ball in the post, she’s a dominant player.”
Gamble got a few hints from her father, former University of Iowa standout Kevin Gamble, who later played in the NBA.
“He said to be strong and pump fake and make my shots,” she said with a smile.
Kendra Campbell added 16 points for Forest Park (26-1), which, like Sacred Heart, was seeking the school’s first girls’ basketball state championship.
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