Mooresville uses second half to top rival Martinsville, advance to sectional championship
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sixteen minutes into Friday's sectional semifinal matchup with rival Mooresville, there was something noticeably different about Martinsville.
The winless Artesians trying to top a Pioneers squad that defeated them 51-17 earlier in the year were making it difficult for Mooresville. More than that, they were controlling the tempo. And it was working.
Trying to limit a high-powered Mooresville offense, Martinsville found success playing slow basketball to catch the Pioneers by surprise. With a halftime score of 28-15 favoring the Pioneers, the Artesians provided themselves a fighter's chance, something that hasn't been easy to come by this year.
Unfortunately for Martinsville, the success was short-lived. Mooresville blew the doors open in the second half, holding the Artesians scoreless in the third quarter and outscoring them 33-8 in the second half to win 61-23. The win secures a second consecutive trip to a sectional title game, a Saturday showdown with Center Grove.
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"We came out, pressed, really got after them," Mooresville coach Mark Hurt said. "You have to give them credit, they hung with us for a while. We took that press off and concentrated on halfcourt defense and that's when we were really able to extend the lead."
Martinsville coach Dave Dorsett attributed depth, or rather the lack of depth, among other things, wearing the team down in the second half.
"We wanted to slow the tempo down, and I think we kind of stunned them on that," Dorsett said. "We felt good at halftime, I was proud of the kids. Fatigue, depth and strength kind of got us there in that third quarter."
Mooresville took over the second half
From the opening inbounds pass to the ring of the final buzzer, the second half looked entirely different than the first.
The Pioneers didn't allow any more trips to the free-throw line. One way the Artesians were able to get Mooresville to play to its speed was by getting to the stripe early and often, knocking down seven of nine attempts. The mistakes were marginalized in the second, helping Mooresville to their 16-0 run.
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Plus, it helps the Pioneers started hitting their shots. The team struggled to make some easy ones to start but turned up the heat to finish. While Rachel Harshman did play a major factor, scoring 16 points, the Pioneers' role players also shined.
Kaitlyn Strietelmeier, for instance, sent back multiple shots, and Addison VanWanzeele connected on a 3-pointer before the halftime buzzer to give the Pioneers the boost they needed to finish. Junior Emma McGinley saved her best for last, scoring seven in the fourth quarter. Kalyn Bunch added 12 points and multiple rebounds.
"Rachel had a solid game, she did a really good job...Kalyn Bunch had a nice ball," Hurt said. "This game here, everyone got to play. It was really a good team win."
On the Martinsville side, Holly Galyan led the way in scoring with 11 points, adding one rebound and a steal. Mya Lewis followed with seven points and two rebounds.
What it means
How does one team endure an 0-25 season? Rather obviously, it's not easy. The motivation, the confidence, the day-to-day. It can all be a grind, but not an ordinary one. It's much more difficult.
Dorsett's goal on the year was to see his players grow, regardless of what the record said. Not just as ball players, but as people. Dorsett feels the team accomplished that. Granted, a win or two wouldn't have hurt, but nonetheless.
"I like to win, don't get me wrong, but just a really good group of kids and I think they've grown tremendously on and off the floor since November," he said. "My job as a head coach is to make them better. We felt like we made them better. Better may not be winning, and they understood that. They could've thrown in the towel at Christmas time, but they didn't. That adversity makes them stronger."
To his point, Martinsville did improve as the season went along, even if there's no win to show for it. With the current roster construction, graduating only two seniors, this unit will stay intact for years to come. The good thing? There's nowhere to go but up.
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"What we do in the offseason and those sorts of things are going to be crucial for this program," Dorsett said. "We'll regroup, get rolling on that and move forward."
As for Mooresville, the Pioneers will look to continue trailblazing with its sectional final date with Center Grove. The two teams have tied, 2-2, in their series the last 20 years with the Trojans topping the Pioneers 62-50 in the most recent meeting on Dec. 28, 2018. The two have never played each other in the tournament.
Looking ahead
Mooresville and Center Grove will battle for the sectional trophy on Saturday with tip slated for 7:30 p.m. at Bloomington High School South.
Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Mooresville tops Martinsville to advance to 2nd consecutive sectional championship
