Hot start by Graves and Williams leads McCutcheon to Sectional title
KOKOMO — Freshman Lillie Graves isn't the only player on McCutcheon capable of being an offensive conductor.
After a near disastrous showing against Kokomo less than 24 hours ago, the Mavericks depth made a phantom reappearance in the IHSAA Class 4A Sectional Championship against Harrison.
Sophomore Braelyn Williams erupted for 13 points and shot 3 of 3 from three-point range in the first quarter. McCutcheon would need every point after building a 20-6 first quarter lead.
Harrison rallied and outscored McCutcheon in the final three quarters, but McCutcheon did enough to sustain itself and scrape by the Raiders 51-49 and capture the IHSAA Class 4A title at Memorial Gymnasium.
"I want to thank my coaches and my teammates for believing in me," Williams said. "It took me a minute to find my shot because I hadn't been shooting well the last two games. My teammates gave me the encouragement."
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McCutcheon (21-4) captured its first IHSAA Class 4A Sectional Championship since 2021 and its 17th title overall.
Graves of course was a factor per usual, even if her shooting took a quarter to adjust. Her presence as a passer and on ball defender being the point person at the top of the key was more than enough to make Harrison's guards uncomfortable from the perimeter.
McCutcheon forced Harrison to miss its first six shots, forced three turnovers and opened the first six minutes on on a 20-3 run.
Graves finished with 18 points and eight assists even as a nagging right ankle injury caused her to have significantly less lift on her jump shot. The freshman still put together a gutsy performance and hit two free throws in the final minute.
The Mavericks, who play nine underclassmen, showed it could manage a large lead after trailing by 11 points against Kokomo in the semifinals the night before.
"We just had to keep pushing and staying together as one," Graves said. "We weren't going to start celebrating too early. We stayed focused on the interim and did we did what we had to do to win."
McCutcheon junior Kalea Washington added 15 rebounds on two points and ensured her team won repeated possessions against Harrison.
"I just really wanted to win because our team deserved it," Washington said. "Our team worked really hard all season."
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Harrison senior Riley Whitlock scored 17 points with seven rebounds while sisters Elsie and Ava Ahnert each scored 11 points. The Mavericks shot 18-21 from the free throw line including 8-of-8 in the third quarter.
The Raiders ran out of time.
"We knew it was going to be a big game, keeping our composure and realizing we were still in it," Elsie Ahnert said. "We had nothing to lose and we have it all we had tonight."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: McCutcheon beats Harrison to win IHSAA 4A Sectional title
