'We love being that underdog': Bishop Chatard tops Cascade to continue improbable run

GREENCASTLE — In the month leading up to Bishop Chatard’s Class 3A IHSAA regional game against Cascade on Saturday, Caroline Bell’s turf toe progressed from keeping her on the sideline to painful, but playable. The pain got worse when her foot was stepped on during the game, and she had a slight limp by the end, the Trojans clinging to a three-point lead in the final seconds.

Bell stepped to the free-throw line with a chance to seal another unlikely Chatard win. Only four Trojans with more than a year of experience had played in the previous 32 game minutes. Forward Anna Caskey was in tears earlier in the year when she told coach Dan Wagner she had torn a tendon in her wrist. Other players had gone through more trying regular seasons, off-the-court difficulties from sick parents to a grandmother passing away days before the game.

The Trojans were only in the regional against 22-3 Cascade after surviving three consecutive games that were either decided by one possession or went into overtime.

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It made it fitting that Bell, nine functioning toes and all, knocked down one of the free throws, putting Chatard ahead by two possessions to seal the 52-48 victory and continue its improbable run through the state tournament.

“These kids have overcome so much throughout this year, and then we play a crazy schedule, and so we kept having to restart multiple times during the year,” Wagner said. “Playing great now. These kids are amazing. The love they have for each other is the difference. That’s why we beat them. Our kids, the way they love each other, the way they play for each other, it’s amazing. It is absolutely amazing. If we could bottle that, we’d make a fortune.”

In its fourth straight close elimination game, Chatard (12-13) was the more poised team. Cascade threw a press at the Trojans early that wasn’t particularly successful in creating turnovers. Leading in the fourth quarter, Chatard moved the ball, chewed up clock and didn’t force anything as the favored Cadets got more desperate. In the final minutes, Cascade committed a turnover in the backcourt that led to an easy layup and committed a flagrant foul.

It didn’t matter that Chatard was coming off of an underwhelming regular season and three tight wins. The seniors had told the rest of the team as much before sectionals: it’s a new season.

“We get the old and regular season out of our head,” Bell said. “Really locking in on winning and especially knowing what it takes.”

It showed in a gritty, mature win and a resilience the Trojans didn’t show earlier in the season. Chatard led most of the game, executing on offense down the stretch to survive 23 points from Cascade senior Abby Parsons.

“We’re playing with house money,” Wagner said. “Did anyone expect us at 8-13 to win sectionals? No. Did anyone expect us at 11-13 to win today? No. Is anyone gonna expect us at 12-13 to win semistate next (week)? No. And we love being that underdog. We love it.”

Frenetic defense guides Indian Creek past Purdue Poly

Indian Creek’s official regional practice was relatively laid back. In McAnally Center, where Indian Creek would eventually play Purdue Poly in the semifinal, the it stayed loose and got shots up. After that, the team returned from Greencastle to its home gym. It was time for defense.

The defense Indian Creek plays is purposefully manic, centered around trapping, forcing turnovers and controlled chaos. It’s evolved since the beginning of the season, becoming more aggressive through repetition and conditioning. Against Purdue Poly (22-6), it wreaked havoc all game, making the Techies uncomfortable and preventing them from getting into any sort of offensive rhythm in the 63-31 win.

“Defense is something we’ve been stressing the whole time this year and buying in, communicating, working together,” coach Brian Ferris said. “The kids have really bought into that and they’ve really decided they love to play defense because they know then if they can force turnovers we can get the ball back and we can score. And they like to score.”

Indian Creek (26-1) began the game in a 1-3-1 press near midcourt. Guard Abby Fleetwood stood in the middle of floor near the halfcourt line and forced Techie ball handlers toward the sideline. When the ball crossed the line, the trap came, forcing a long, looping pass Indian Creek was frequently able to intercept.

The fourth quarter had a running clock as Indian Creek jumped out to a lead early and only expanded it throughout the game. Lauren Foster led with 22 points. IU commit Faith Wiseman added 14.

Indian Creek eventually did ease off on the press but continued to hound Purdue Poly guards well past the 3-point line. Double teams came at seemingly random times from different spots on the floor, using their clear size advantage to corner Techies on the wing and in the corners.

It all went hand-in-hand with the IC’s offensive gameplan: run as often as possible. Rebounds almost immediately turned into outlets, which then became cross-court passes in transition as guards ran down each sideline and cut to the basket off of almost every miss and turnover.

It was the same way they played defense: fast, urgently, but with a clear plan, as random and chaotic as it could appear in the moment.

“Our thing is play quick, not in a hurry,” Ferris said. “And we do a lot of stuff in practice to try to condition ourselves to do that, and sometimes we can wear other teams out doing that, and sometimes we gotta slow it down. The girls want to get up and go. They don’t like slow tempo and slow pace and running a bunch of sets. They want to go, so if it’s working, we’ll do it.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: Bishop Chatard's underdog run continues