Napoleon wins first title in school history
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They say the first time you win a championship, it is like a feeling like no other.
The first two state champions today are multiple time winners, but for Napoleon, they danced for the first time in school history. The Wildcats used a huge third period to open up a close game at halftime, and cruised to the state championship over Vinton County 76-44.
Napoleon was led by [player_tooltip player_id="91131" first="Taylor" last="Strock"] <em>(pictured above) </em>with a game high 23 points and seven rebounds, while Caely Ressler added 18 points and seven rebounds. Kalli Helberg also had a big game with 16 points. [player_tooltip player_id="91104" first="Morgan" last="Bentley"] finished her career with 21 points and seven rebounds, while [player_tooltip player_id="159366" first="Cameron" last="Zinn"] contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Napoleon jumped out to to a quick 10-0 lead before Zinn broke the scoreless drought with 3:25 left in the first quarter. Strock finished a solid opening quarter with five points but even after their early lead, Vinton County battled back to only trail 12-8 after the opening period.
It was a fast start to the second quarter that propelled Napoleon to a 22-10 lead behind good perimeter shooting from Sophie Chipps and Strock. Zinn scored a pair of short range jumpers to keep them close, but the Wildcats held Vinton County to only two points in the final two minutes and took a 31-20 lead into the half.
Even with a close margin at the intermission, Napoleon put the game away in the first 3:50 of the third period. A pair of easy buckets from Ressler and a long three from Strock left Vinton County looking at a 20-point deficit. [player_tooltip player_id="91093" first="Myriah" last="Davis"] answered with her only shot of the day to break the 9-0 run.
Napoleon finished the state title game with a 20-13 fourth period, and climbed the ladder to celebrate something that Henry County can be proud of.
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