Turning Silver Into Gold

Saturday afternoon, two of the best teams all season in Class 3A took to the floor to battle for the 2020-2021 State Championship. When the final buzzer sounded, the Silver Creek Dragons raised the trophy, knocking off the South Bend Washington Panthers, 54-48. It was their first girls’ basketball State Championship, and the high school’s second overall, joining the 2019 boys’ basketball team. The Dragons showed great balance, they shared the ball well, and they got just enough stops down the stretch against a talented Panther squad to finish the job. The first quarter saw a lot of back-and-forth. Washington Junior Shamarah Allen got the scoring started with a transition layup off of a Silver Creek turnover. Silver Creek Junior [player_tooltip player_id="128116" first="Kynidi" last="Striverson"] answered back with a pull-up jumper 25 seconds later to make it 2-2. Shortly after the first media timeout, Washington Junior [player_tooltip player_id="97241" first="Mila" last="Reynolds"] scored to make it 10-6, and at that point all five starters had made a basket for the Panthers. The Dragon’s [player_tooltip player_id="88414" first="Marissa" last="Gasaway"] would score to make it 10-8, Reynolds answered with a pair of free throws to put it at 12-8, then Gasaway scored again to pull within 12-10. The Panthers’ early lead ended at the 1:22 mark, when Silver Creek Senior [player_tooltip player_id="62561" first="Jaclyn" last="Emly"] scored her first points, tying it at 12. Washington Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="96086" first="RaShunda" last="Jones"] put them up again briefly at 14-12, but Dragon Junior [player_tooltip player_id="128122" first="Emme" last="Rooney"] scored on a rebound basket, and Striverson knocked down a free throw after the final buzzer, giving Silver Creek a 15-14 first quarter lead. The first 3:11 of the second quarter saw Silver Creek extend their lead to 23-16, behind a free throw and layup by Gasaway and two jumpers by Senior [player_tooltip player_id="130316" first="Alana" last="Striverson"], one of which was a 3-pointer. Only a pair of free throws by Reynolds broke up the Dragons’ scoring. Jones made a layup for Washington, cutting it to 23-18, but the older Striverson continued her strong second quarter with another basket, and it was 25-18 at the media timeout. Jones made one more layup at the three-minute mark, but that was the final score for Washington in the half. Gasaway found the basket once more on a fast break with 1:33 left, then the younger Striverson made a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left, giving Silver Creek their biggest lead of the day, 30-20 at the half. Gasaway led the Dragons into the half with 11 points and seven rebounds, [player_tooltip player_id="130316" first="Alana" last="Striverson"] added seven points, and [player_tooltip player_id="128116" first="Kynidi" last="Striverson"] had six points. For Washington, Jones had nine points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists, while Reynolds posted six points and three rebounds of her own. The third quarter saw the Panthers fight back a bit. Gasaway opened the scoring for Silver Creek, and the lead grew to 32-20, but Jones’ 3-pointer, a made free throw by Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="59769" first="Amiyah" last="Reynolds"], and another 3-pointer by Allen in about a two-minute span quickly made it 32-27. [player_tooltip player_id="130316" first="Alana" last="Striverson"] finally answered for the Dragons, then [player_tooltip player_id="97241" first="Mila" last="Reynolds"] made a free throw shortly before the third quarter media timeout, and it was 34-28 at the interruption. After the timeout, Silver Creek grabbed a big offensive rebound, and Rooney knocked down what might have been a dagger 3-pointer, stretching the lead back up to nine points at 37-28. But Washington answered back with their own 7-2 run, consisting of a layup by Allen, a jumper by the younger Reynolds, and a huge 3-pointer by the older Reynolds with just one second remaining. [player_tooltip player_id="130316" first="Alana" last="Striverson"] made a pair of free throws for Silver Creek in that stretch as well. It was a tightly contested, 39-35 game heading into the final period. Washington had the first possession in the fourth quarter, but after two misses, they turned it over. Silver Creek didn’t do much better, and it was [player_tooltip player_id="97241" first="Mila" last="Reynolds"] opening the scoring in the fourth with a layup at 6:48, now cutting it to just two at 39-37. [player_tooltip player_id="128116" first="Kynidi" last="Striverson"] made one of two free throws for the Dragons, then Allen made a short jumper for the Panthers, and suddenly it was a one-point game, 40-39. Striverson went to the line again, this time making both shots, but 6-4 Senior [player_tooltip player_id="130364" first="Francisca" last="Galicia"] scored at the basket for Washington, and it was 42-41. Once again, Gasaway scored for Silver Creek and the older Reynolds answered back...44-43. With all of the trading of baskets in the period, I think the next sequence of events kind of took the energy away from the Panthers. Emly made a huge 3-pointer for the Dragons, extending their lead to 47-43, and the media timeout came with just 2:42 left, even though Washington probably wanted the action to continue. Shortly after the break, Allen took a 3-point attempt, and the ball got stuck in the rim, causing another delay/stoppage. Gasaway quickly made a layup for Silver Creek, and suddenly it was a 49-43 lead. From there, Washington would cut it to no closer than four points, they were short on time, and it became a free throw contest the rest of the way, putting the final score at 54-48. This was a very intriguing matchup and an entertaining game to watch, as you had a number of Division-I prospects on the floor for both teams. It was fun to watch South Bend Washington fight all the way back from a 10-point halftime deficit to cut it to just one point, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump and take the lead back. A lot of the stats were quite comparable. Silver Creek shot it a little better from the field, while Washington was better at the free throw line. Both teams made four 3-pointers on a similar number of attempts. Turnovers were about the same as well. Silver Creek won the rebounding battle by five, and by three at the offensive end of the floor. That can be a huge difference in a two-possession game like this. [player_tooltip player_id="88414" first="Marissa" last="Gasaway"] and [player_tooltip player_id="97241" first="Mila" last="Reynolds"] shared scoring honors with 18 points apiece. Gasaway also grabbed 10 rebounds. [player_tooltip player_id="128116" first="Kynidi" last="Striverson"] contributed 10 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for Silver Creek, while sister Alana added 11 points. Jones was the only other double-figure scorer, netting 13 points for the Panthers.   NOTES: Silver Creek finishes the season with a 25-3 record overall. All three of their losses came against Class 4A opponents. South Bend Washington finishes the season with a 22-6 record overall. They should return four starters and their top four scorers next season. Silver Creek Senior [player_tooltip player_id="62561" first="Jaclyn" last="Emly"] was awarded the prestigious Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award following the game.   48 - SOUTH BEND WASHINGTON (22-6): M. Reynolds 18, Jones 13, Allen 9, A. Reynolds 4, Galicia 4, Robinson 0, Gillon 0 54 - SILVER CREEK (25-3): Gasaway 18, A. Striverson 11, K. Striverson 10, Rooney 7, Emly 5, Sierota 3, Kirchgessner 0