By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
SOUTHPORT – Athletics can be very cruel. In some ways, that is why we find them so fascinating.
The suddenness with which adversity can strike is part of the drama. For the team it strikes, however, it is anything but entertaining. Still, it often brings out the best in competitors, and that is truly why we watch.
All of this is a lesson that sixth-ranked Crawfordsville painfully learned Feb. 28 in a heartbreaking 49-44 Class 3A Southport Semistate loss to No. 10 Owen Valley.
(TO CHECK OUT PICTURES FROM THE CRAWFORDSVILLE-OWEN VALLEY GAME BY OUR OWN MARK GRICIUS, CLICK HERE!!)
Everybody anticipated the Athenians would face a tough battle with Owen Valley and wily coach Tom Anderson. The opening minutes did nothing to change that view. The two defenses controlled much of the first quarter, and the lead was never more than a couple of points either way.
Then late in the period, Owen Valley (24-2) scored the most damaging basket of Crawfordsville’s season. Three Athenians converged to stop a Patriot who was driving into the lane from the left side. After the play, Athenian point guard and floor general Lexi Stevens lay on the ground holding her ankle.
Just like that, the heart and soul of this talented team was gone. She didn’t return in the first half, and the questions hanging over a packed Southport Fieldhouse were if she would return at all – and how long Crawfordsville (23-3) could survive without her.
Fellow senior Mandi Johnson and junior Alex Gasaway quickly answered the latter question. Trailing 17-11 at the end of the first period, Johnson and Gasaway scored the first six points of the second stanza to tie the game and serve notice that the Athenians weren’t going away quietly.
Owen Valley responded quickly. The Patriots scored, stole the in-bounds pass, and scored again. That burst would carry them to the half with the lead. The Patriots used a variety of stingy zones and full-court presses to keep the rudderless Athenians off-balance.
Meanwhile, Crawfordsville all but vanquished Owen Valley’s interior attack. A Gasaway 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the half pulled Crawfordsville within two at the break, 27-25.
Stevens returned to the court with her team for the start of the second half, but it was clear that she was far from 100 percent on the gimpy ankle. She began the half but went for only a couple of minutes before being pulled by Crawfordsville coach Darren Haas.
Nonetheless, the Athenians surged into the lead on the strength of a 7-2 opening run, with Johnson and Gasaway scoring all seven points. And the Athenians led 32-29 when adversity struck again when Johnson picked up her third foul with 4:24 remaining in the quarter.
The Patriots immediately caused two turnovers and turned them into four points to regain the lead. That brought Stevens back in the game. Even at less than her best, she was the best ball-handling option the Athenians had.
The move worked, and the remainder of the period was a back-and-forth affair that previewed what was to come. The stanza ended with Owen Valley clinging to a 41-40 advantage.
It would take several pages to describe all the drama in the fourth quarter. Suffice to say it was eight minutes of the most tense, and intense, basketball you will ever see. In the end, two plays in the final two minutes spelled the difference.
With Crawfordsville leading 44-43 with just under two minutes to play, Haas spread the court and put the ball in Stevens’ hands as he has done countless times over the past four years. The idea was to take advantage of her ball skills and deadly free throw shooting.
It nearly worked.
On the first possession, Stevens found a seam and drove to the basket, drawing a foul. But it was ruled to have been committed on the floor, and Crawfordsville was forced to in-bound the ball instead of getting shots. Then on the ensuing possession, Stevens attempted a spin move when the ankle gave out, resulting in her losing the ball out of bounds.
The Athenians survived that when Gasaway stepped into the lane and took a charge. They would not be so lucky the second time. Still needing to give a foul before Crawfordsville would be forced to shoot free throws, Owen Valley quickly fouled with 38 seconds to play.
The Patriots then made the first of two huge plays, tipping the in-bound pass and tracking down the loose ball for a steal. Stevens was forced to foul to prevent the layup, and both free throws were drained.
Crawfordsville rushed the ball back down the court, where Stevens found Gasaway on a give-and-go that seemed destined for a wide-open layup. But as Gasaway rose into the air, Owen Valley’s Kaitlin Sweatman came from nowhere to stage a sensational block. The resulting loose ball wound up in the Patriots’ hands, and Crawfordsville was forced to foul.
Once again the charity tosses were drained, and the Athenians’ fate was sealed.
Owen Valley is a well-coached, disciplined team. The Patriots sense an opponent’s weaknesses and are quick to exploit it, and they’ll get one final chance to do so March 7 in the 3A state championship game against No. 4 Fort Wayne Elmhurst (24-2) at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Crawfordsville, on the other hand, is a talented team with a great deal of courage.
It made for 32 minutes of compelling basketball. An obviously dejected but proud coach Haas spoke with Hoosier Authority after the game. His comments are in the accompanying video.
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