On the cold Friday afternoon of February 27th, the Indian Hills Girls basketball team did the unthinkable. Towards the end of the regular season the team was able to punch their ticket into the state tournament, however they would end up being the #16 seed, which is the lowest seed a team can be in the tournament. Nonetheless, the Braves still had a title to fight for and a season to continue playing in regardless of what seed they were. As they headed into the tournament with their heads held high, the Braves would take on the #1 seed Emerson Boro Cavaliers in the first round. Now, the Braves had already played Emerson once before this year, way back in late December at the Demarest Holiday Invitational. Although they ended up losing by two in that game, it was a sign that a win was definitely possible against the Cavaliers. So as the game drew near, and the officials set the court for tipoff, the Braves got ready to defy the odds and spark the upset win.
The Braves set the tone early as they jumped out to a four point lead at the end of the opening quarter, and were up by a solid 13 points heading into halftime. The Braves big first half lead over Emerson was aided by great performances from their starters like #12 Junior Julia DiMasi, who scored 18 points and had four three pointers during the game. When asked, Dimasi spoke about her performance in that, “I wasn’t even really thinking about how many points I had or how well I was playing, I just wanted to win, I would do anything for these girls, anything for this team and I think that showed in my performance. It was really just putting the team in the best position to win and I guess the ball went in the basket a lot for me.” Another few key players were the three freshman on varsity #4 Sydney O’Rourke, who secured 15 rebounds, 4 steals, and 9 blocks; #2 Anna Vigeant, who had 7 points and 5 assists; and #24 AnaBelle Nelson, who had 9 points, 5 rebounds, and a block. Looking back on the game, Nelson regards her first time playing a state game as a freshman on varsity, “Playing in my first varsity state game as a freshman was so empowering, and it was such a great experience and opportunity for me as a young player and is definitely something I’ll always remember. The energy in the game was great and I just tried to stay composed, play my role and do my best to positively contribute to the team.”
Heading out of the half, the Braves continued to dominate as they kept their decent lead over Emerson, and actually extended it to a 15 point lead by time the third quarter ended. The Braves had been clicking all game both offensively and defensively against Emerson, which was one of the main reasons that they had gotten the lead early, and kept that lead all game. Transitioning into the fourth quarter, there were eight minutes of basketball separating the Braves from an upset win over #1 seeded Emerson Boro Cavaliers. If the Braves would’ve wanted a chance to play in the next round of states, they would’ve needed to keep playing the way they had been all game to keep the Cavs from making a late game comeback. Although Emerson did have a decent effort putting up 19 points in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t anything that the Braves couldn’t handle as they played a great fourth quarter of basketball accumulating a respectable 12 points, which was more than enough for them to fend off Emerson’s late game push. So as the clock struck zero, and the scoreboard buzzed loudly to end the game, it was the Braves who emerged victorious over the Cavaliers, with the final score being Braves 49, Emerson Boro 41.
The Braves had pulled off the incredible upset win and sent themselves into the next round of states. They had dominated and competed their way to the top in this game, and were able to work together perfectly to beat out this tough team, just like they had been doing all season. After the game Dimasi stated that, “To me, it really means a lot because a lot of teams have overlooked us and we have sort of been the team that people say is an “easy win”, but we knew what we were capable of and knew that the skill and talent we had could help us pull off the upset.” Additionally, Nelson commented that, “Upsetting the #1 seed was really exciting for us because it proved that our hard work and preparation really paid off. Our team stayed confident, supported each other, and played with a lot of energy. It was a big moment for us and something we’re really proud of as a team.” Although the Braves season sadly came to an end in the next round of states in a close game with Butler, it was still an extraordinary moment for the team and the program to pull off the win against the #1 seed. This win wasn’t just ordinary for the Braves, it was one that is sure to have an everlasting impact on all of the players and the coaches, and it was one that will be forever remembered and cemented in the program.