FORT WAYNE | Most teams in Indiana, most players, have one goal when the season starts -- to win the state championship.
For some it is a pipe dream. For others it is realistic. But after Saturday night's 99-52 loss to Ben Davis in the Class 4A state championship game at Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum, several Pirates looked back at their first appearance in a state title game.
"We weren't looking too far in advance," Merrillville senior Tracee Mitchel said of her team's goal in November. "Our one goal at the time was to win the sectional. We just wanted to win a sectional."
The Pirates hadn't won a sectional since 1989. But the Pirates went on to win their first regional and semistate.
"I'm so proud of these girls," Merrillville coach Amy Govert said. "They did what no one thought that they could. No matter how this game turned out, they will always be winners in my book."
YELICH WINS STATE HONOR: Four local officials worked state finals games on Saturday. Griffith's Isob Filipek worked the Class A game. Rensselaer's Grady Smith and Schererville's Kim Yelich worked the 2A game. And Crown Point's Mike Waisnora worked the 3A game.
Yelich was named the state's Most Outstanding Official for the 2009-10 season.
MOVING THE CHAMPIONSHIP: Much has been said about the IHSAA moving the state finals to Fort Wayne's Memorial Coliseum, which angered many in southern Indiana. But this wasn't the first time the Coliseum has been a part of a big move. The 1955 NBA championship between the Fort Wayne Pistons and the Syracuse Nats, the first finals after the 24-second clock was instituted, was moved from Memorial Coliseum to Indianapolis for a bowling tournament. The event had been scheduled at the stadium because no one thought the Pistons would make the finals.
CLOTHES HORSE: Merrillville wears the same thing every game: purple and white.
So they pay attention to the attire of Govert. The girls have watched all year what she's worn as she typically dresses in a gray or black suit with a purple shirt underneath.
When her team played an afternoon game in the regular season against Munster and the coaching staff was in fleece tops, the girls gave an evil eye.
On Saturday, Govert, a former guard, wore a gray pant suit with a black T-shirt underneath.
"The kids picked this out," Govert said.
"We just want to make sure the coaches look nice," Mitchel said.
PIRATES SET A RECORD, TOO: The Pirates took a little solace in the records they were a part of in a positive way. Merrillville scored 18 third-quarter points, which were a part of the 54 total for the third quarter. And despite the records that the Giants had, Merrillville's Bryonna Davis had a game-high 25 points.
"I'm proud of my team," said Davis, who will play at Michigan State next season. "We played hard and we had a great season. We have nothing to hang our heads about."
TWO FOR THE FORT: In Saturday's other games, Fort Wayne teams went 2-1. In Class 3A, the team that eliminated Griffith, Fort Wayne Concordia, upended No. 1 Rushville 59-48. It was the first girls basketball title for Concordia (24-3). ... In Class 2A, Chelsea Jones scored 23 points, including two key baskets in overtime, to lead Austin to a 70-65 victory over Fort Wayne Bishop Luers. ... And in Class A, Tabitha Gerardot scored 16 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter as Fort Wayne Canterbury won its third straight state state championship, 69-65 over Vincennes Rivet.
GIRLS BASKETBALL | STATE FINALS NOTEBOOK
