Broadfording repeats as MDCC girls basketball tournament champion
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — With a nine-point lead over Shalom with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter of the Mason Dixon Christian Conference girls basketball championship game at Shepherd University's Butcher Center on Saturday, Broadfording junior Fanta Minteh walked to the bench after picking up her fifth foul.
The question was immediate and obvious: How would the Lions hold onto the lead with their superstar and two-time league MVP out of the game?
When Shalom's Addison Adams made a floater, was fouled and completed a three-point play with 1:15 left to tie the game, it seemed Broadfording wouldn't.
But the Lions dug deep defensively and made enough free throws to emerge with their second straight MDCC tournament title, 44-41.
"This tournament, we actually had Fanta in foul trouble both games, so I think it showcases that we are a complete team," said Broadfording coach Jacob Wyand. "Fanta is an awesome player, but we had people step up and perform in high pressure, and we did it two games in a row. Yesterday was early, today was late, so that's really good to see."
Broadfording senior Abby Drier earned tournament MVP honors, finishing with 12 points, most of them in the second half, as well as seven rebounds and four steals.
"I feel like all year everyone doubted us, that we only ran through Fanta and Fanta is our only way to score. We proved today that we are good enough to score without her," Drier said. "I'm not downing her, I'm just saying we are a good team with and without Fanta. We've been through games like this before where Fanta's fouled out before. Just staying calm and doing what we know we could do is what mattered at the end."
"We had some players step up for us," Wyand said. "Addison (Drier) pitched in really great defensively for some minutes. Tiki (Koontz) battled through a little bit of an injury. Abby did her thing. Grace-Lynn (Wagoner) was unbelievable with her ball control. We knew we just had to control the ball, work it, be patient on offense, pick our opportunities and attack when we can. We did and they fouled us, and we hit enough foul shots to kind of carry us through."
Minteh finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, and Koontz also scored 12 points for the Lions (23-9). Wagoner joined Drier on the all-tournament team.
Boys championship
Shalom 53, Heritage 34
The Eagles (23-3) were denied in their bid for a repeat championship, as the Flames put the clamps on defensively to pull away.
Heritage had precious few easy looks at the basket, and the Eagles' perimeter shots mostly failed to find the net. Shalom led 28-20 at halftime and closed the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 45-25.
Tournament MVP Ethan Hubers scored 19 points and all-tournament honoree Noah Lehman added 12 points for the Flames. Drake Wenger added 13 points.
Jackson Cline led Heritage with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cline and Ethan Shoemaker made the all-tournament team.
Grace gets two consolation victories
Grace Academy won both of the third-place games earlier Saturday. The girls defeated Cumberland Valley Christian, 54-33, before the boys got past New Life, 81-72.
In the girls game, Ella Papa scored 18 points and Jillian Harper added 12 points for the Knights. Harper was selected to the all-tournament team.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Broadfording wins MDCC girls basketball tournament title
