Girls basketball: Lake Central, Lowell advance at Munster Sectional
By John O’Malley Post-Tribune correspondent February 8, 2012 11:12PM
Lake Central's Jessica Bell is fouled by Munster's Lauren Grunewald in the second quarter Wednesday evening at Munster High School. | Jeffrey D. Nicholls~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:39AM
MUNSTER — Lake Central’s Jessica Bell admitted she started to panic a little bit inside when the third quarter was winding down.
The Indians forward and her teammates, who were outscored by Munster by 14 points in the third quarter, had to be wondering if the curtain was about to close on their season.
After all, the Mustangs (10-11) had all the momentum, and after trailing by 12 points in the final three minutes of the first half, they now had a three-point lead.
The Indians had reasons to doubt themselves. Instead, they believed and they didn’t panic.
Lake Central (12-9) turned the deficit around by outscoring the Mustangs by 12 in the final eight minutes and emerged with a 47-38 win over Munster in the Class 4A Sectional on Wednesday night.
Bell scored a game-high 20 points — including 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter — to bring the Indians all the way back.
Indians senior forward Nikki Adams was a major contributor with 15 points, including eight in the final quarter.
“We had a motto coming into this game,’’ Bell said. “The motto was do what you have to do to advance. We’re trying to make our own legacy this year and repeat what we did last year. I was panicking a little bit inside. I thought that for a few seconds we might not have that chance.’’
Bell, a junior forward/center, and Adams, did it all for the Indians to help them earn a rematch in Friday night’s second semifinal game against Lowell (18-3).
West Side (17-4) meets EC Central (15-6) in the first game.
In the opener, Lowell beat Highland, 45-32, as MacKenzie Kreutz scored a game-high 23 points, while Katie Bobos added 11.
“I was just trying to take it to the basket strong,’’ Kreutz said. “I was hoping to draw fouls and get the and one. I felt really good tonight, but I couldn’t have done it without Kalyne (Godbolt) and Sarah (Wieser) who were passing the ball to me.’’
Highland coach Tracie Mezera was disappointed her team’s season ended and the loss of seven seniors.
“When you can’t score, it’s hard to win basketball games,’’ she said.
“It’s been the same story all season. We’ve had a hard time scoring. We missed a lot of little bunnies there early in the game that could have made a real difference.’’
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