Lady Indians BG Tournament Champions Again After 34-Years
For the first time since 1988, the Van-Far Lady Indians have taken home the Bowling Green Basketball Tournament’s championship hardware.
Van-Far faced some tough competition from the start of Bowling Green High School’s 97th annual invitational. They went into the tournament with only five wins. Despite coming off a fresh loss against Monroe City and sporting a 5-10 record, the Lady Indians were placed as the fourth seed.
They were also slated to go up against North Callaway first. A team they defeated by 10-points before the Christmas break. A good start for certain, but they were far from favored to win the entire thing with teams like 11-6 Elsberry, 10-6 Clopton, and 10-5 Silex in the bracket.
Both Elsberry and Silex handed Van-Far losses earlier in the season.
But Van-Far Head Basketball Coach, Heather Minter, and the Lady Indians were progressively improving, and their tenacity hadn’t gone unnoticed by other teams.
“We’ve got to keep Mara on the floor,” Minter told the Tribune after their semi-final match against Elsberry. “A lot of teams know that’s where we’re going. they’re figuring that out. So, I feel like once the other girls start taking shots, that will open things up for us.”
And that’s exactly what they did. Coach Minter’s got her message through to the team because they moved the ball more frequently and took better aimed shots which often scored.
“These ladies were capable, and I knew they could do,” Minter said of the championship game. “I told them the keys are knocking down shots, taking care of the ball, communication, and having fun. The only thing I worried about was if they would freak out with the large crowd. This is about these kids believing and getting some respect back for the girl’s program. I have really enjoyed sitting back watching their excitement and them grow together as a team.”
It was much more precise game for the Lady Indians than the one they played against Elsberry. Where Minter felt they played a little sloppy in the semi-finals, the Van-Far ladies worked the ball more methodically taking shots which allowed Mara Jensen to snag the rebound when they did miss the net.
In the game against Silex, the team worked together with playmaker Devyn Keller methodically moving the ball forward and setting up the top scorers of the night. She earned 11 assists that night. From watching her calm demeanor, one would never suspect it was senior’s (and team’s) first time in a championship match in at least the last four years.
“I have not been in a championship game since I’ve been in high school,” Keller told the Tribune after the game. “It was definitely something I’ve never felt before. I love the atmosphere and the support we had from the student section. It was all amazing.”
Sophomore, Carmen Wilburn, agreed.
“It was a great feeling,” she said when asked how it felt earning the title. “Having everyone come out and support us was great.”
“The amount of communication we had definitely contributed to the win,” Keller continued. “We all worked together as a team, stepped up when we needed to, and we all played the roles we needed to.”
“We’ve been working on that all season,” Wilburn answered when asked about the team finding the net. “It’s been building up to everyone needing to be on the same page and clicking. We really got on a roll tonight.”
Mara Jensen had a huge night racking up 27 points – half of the teams combined total score. She was followed by Haley Baskett who put 13 points up on the board with a combination of shots just outside the lane and free throws.
Carmen Wilburn was on fire in the back court, nailing three 3-pointers and hitting three out of four attempts at the free throw line.
“This week was huge for our program,” Coach Minter added about Van-Far’s win. “I have told these ladies all season what they are capable of and that they have to believe in themselves and each other. Mara got in foul trouble both games and McKenna came in and gave huge minutes. People know we want to pound the ball inside, but honestly we are not successful without Devyn taking care of the ball, Haley and Carmen knocking down shots, Mara finishing inside and most importantly we played some great defense this week that gave us a chance to win games.”
By no means were the Silex Lady Owls pushovers.
Silex Head Basketball Coach and Athletic Director, Robert James, knew they would have a fight on their hands telling the Tribune after their 37-32 semifinals win over Clopton that the Lady Owls needed to work on defensive turnovers.
“We battled the entire game but just dug ourselves a hole to start the game, at the end of the 1st quarter we trailed 16-6,” Coach James noted. “It was really a well-played game by both teams, they were just able to hit more shots than us. I was proud of the way that we competed all night and gave ourselves a chance at the end but Van-Far was able to put the game out of reach at the FT line.”
Silex boasted a dangerous starting line with shooters who could and did score. Each gave Rita Thoroughman who often carried the ball into the zone plenty of offensive options, but the tough Van-Far defense slowed them down in the first quarter.
Thoroughman found Sara Grateke busy jockeying for position against Van-Far’s Jensen under the net to earn the teams only layup in the first.
Not without trying though. For much of the first half of the game, Silex suffered bad bounces off the rim and were forced to play from the outside due Van-Far’s defensive pressure.
“We tried a little bit of everything defensively in the 1st half,” James continued. “Mara Jensen was a load inside; she ended the game with 27 points on 11/14 shooting and 5/6 from the charity stripe. We went to the zone to try and get some help on Mara and then their guards knocked down some outside shots.”
Despite the loss, Coach James said it was a step forward for the team.
“We have talked all year about valuing the basketball, this was by far our best outing as we only turned the ball over 7 times,” he explained. “That was a big step for us to play in the Championship game. We told the girls to keep their heads up as they played a good game. Van-Far was just able to knock down more shots than us. Coach Minter and their players deserve a lot of credit, they played well and earned the Championship.”
Thoroughman, Abigail Mooney, and Grateke all made trips up to the free throw line that quarter, but they were only able to rack up 6-points by the first buzzer.
The nets didn’t warm up for the Lady Owls until the second half where they quickly added 30-points onto the board (15-points in the third and fourth quarters).
Grateke led Silex on the board with 16-points.
She was followed on the scorecard by Maddy Hall put up 11-points, and Mooney and Thoroughman who both who earned six.
Van-Far is currently scheduled to face Bowling Green on Thursday Feb. 3 before hosting Mark Twain for their court warming on Friday, Feb. 4
Silex is set to travel to Wright City on Friday, Feb. 4 before they host a tough Marion County for their court warming on Saturday, Feb. 5.
Please check with the schools before attending due to the possibility of inclement weather and schedule changes.
