“We’re moving on!” That’s the quote every basketball coach hopes to exclaim at the end each postseason game and that was the main sentiment of Annawan girls basketball Coach Jason Burkiewicz.
After being down for over three quarters of the game, Burkiewicz’s second-seeded Bravettes had to dig deep down to beat a scrappy third-seeded Brimfield team Thursday night in the championship game of the Class 1A Annawan Regional.
Annawan found themselves down 36-33 by the end of the third quarter, but they played some inspired team ball to close out the game and came out on top by a score of 53-47.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our girls tonight. I’ve been preaching to them for years that champions can take punches,” said Burkiewicz. “Brimfield was ready tonight and executed very well. I think it’s possible it’s the best game they played all year,” he added.
The two teams were well aware of what the other had to offer. They played each other earlier in the season (Dec 2) and Annawan won that contest, 60-41. During that game, Annawan was ahead 23-19 at the half, but pulled out a 24-13 third quarter effort to win going away.
Early on in Thursday night’s game, it was evident that Brimfield knew the assignment, which was to contain Annawan’s leading scorer and all-stater, Clara Bella VanOpdorp. The junior guard was limited to one made 3-pointer in the first quarter (and the entire game).
As for Brimfield, they pack the lane with plenty of size and strength, so their post players, 5’10” senior Ava Simpson and 6’0″ junior Ava Heinz, demand a lot of attention.
While trying to limit Brimfield’s easy looks in the paint, Brimfield senior guard Kylee Vaughn was given enough open space on the baseline to cash in on three treys in the opening frame. Heinz chipped in with four in helping the Lady Indians to a 15-14 first quarter lead.
Annawan’s versatile senior Kaylee Celus and fellow senior Olivia Goodley combined for nine first quarter points.
Brimfield outscored Annawan 11-5 in the second quarter to expand their lead to 26-19 at the half. Vaughn made another 3-pointer and her senior teammate Olivia Kappes added another for good measure. Vaughn had a total of 12 points in the first half.
The tide began to turn for Annawan in the third quarter. Their first half defense wasn’t too shabby, but an obvious sense of urgency was starting to permeate within the team and the hometown crowd. If the Bravettes’ defense could be described as a seven in the first half, it would be considered a “10” in the second half.
With the rangy arms of forward Kaylee Celus at the point of the defense, deflecting passes and her teammates diving for loose balls, the Brimfield guards started getting rattled into turning the ball over.
In addition, midway through the third quarter, the outside shots that had fallen earlier for Brimfield were rarely falling. That, however, wasn’t an issue for Annawan’s Goodley. After making a layup, she hit a trey from the top of the key to prompt a Brimfield timeout at 32-26.
Goodley scored seven in the frame for the Bravettes as Annawan outscored the Lady Indians 14-10 in the third quarter, but Brimfield held a slim 36-33 lead with eight minutes left to play. Vaughn and Kappes each scored five for the Lady Indians.
During Annawan’s 20-point fourth quarter blitz, Goodley and senior Elaina Manuel hit two big threes and senior forward Zoey Vance came up big at the foul line, converting 5 of 6 free throws and scoring nine points down the stretch. The Bravettes outscored Brimfield 20-11 in final frame to secure the 53-47 win.
As a team, Annawan was 10-14 at the line in the fourth quarter and they were, collectively, 18-24 on the night. Vance shot 70 percent for the game (7-10).
“Brimfield came prepared to win a regional title, but our girls stayed in the fight all night and rallied back from being down 11, twice,” said Burkiewicz. “Big shots from Lainey Manuel and Olivia Goodley. Kaylee Celus owned the game, defensively, for 32 minutes once again and Zoey led the way with 15 points,” he added.
“It was a complete team victory with all members believing. Paige (Sierens) made an impact off the bench and Bella (VanOpdorp) made the assist of the game to Zoey.”
Vance scored 10 second half points and 15 total for Annawan. Goodley followed with 14, Celus tallied 11 and VanOpdorp chipped in with seven.
Vaughn led all scorers with 17 points, Kappes had 16 and Ava Simpson added eight.
Annawan (24-6) will now play top-seeded Illini Bluffs (26-4) Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the semifinal game of the Class 1A Bushnell-Prairie City Sectional in Bushnell.
