'This is not a rebuilding year': Jackson girls basketball wins share of Federal League title

JACKSON TWP. — For the Jackson girls basketball team, winning a Federal League title looked like a challenging goal this season for head coach Anthony Butch and his Polar Bears.

Before the season started, Butch met with his senior captain Megan Campbell to let her know that expectations remained high. The loss of Division I college basketball talents — Leah Patinbandla (Wisconsin) and Lauren Pallotta (Dayton) — was not an excuse for a down year for a team that reached the district finals a year ago and the Division I state final four in 2022.

"This is not a rebuilding year. That was his key statement," Campbell recalled.

Campbell and company got the message. The Polar Bears defeated Perry 52-43 Saturday to clinch a share of the Federal League title with the Lake Blue Streaks. Each team went 11-1 in league play, splitting their two games. This is Jackson's first league title in four years and just the third in program history.

Don't let Saturday's final score fool you.

The Polar Bears, who are 16-3 overall, had to earn their way to victory. It was a one-possession game much of the first three and a half quarters. At one point, Perry had control and led by as many as five points in the first half. The Polar Bears weren't themselves, trailing 25-24 at the half. Butch was disappointed in Jackson's defensive execution and expected the Polar Bears to regain control of the game.

It happened in the fourth quarter when the Polar Bears held Perry to just two field goals. Jackson was up 46-38 after freshman Alexa Pizor's 3-point play when she was fouled making a layup to seal the deal for the Polar Bears with less than a minute left to play.

"We told them that you've got 16 minutes for something that's going to be with you for the rest of your life," Butch said. "This Federal League title — with what we lost in the seniors that graduated last year, starting two freshmen and a sophomore in the Federal League — is really, really something special."

Campbell, a Tiffin commit, finished the job by knocking down all eight of her free throws down the stretch, as she was 13-of-14 at the foul line overall in scoring a team-high 16 points.

"I give Megan so much credit because coming into this season, she can score loads of points, and she sacrificed the points for everything else this team has needed," Butch said.

Senior Ashley Lahmers and sophomore Maddie Lepley also scored double figures. Lepley scored 14 and Lahmers dropped 12 points.

Perry (8-13, 3-9) made sure Jackson had to earn its share of the league title.

Leading the way for the Panthers was their senior guard Marlee Pireu with 11 points and freshman Mya Patton with 10 points, all in the first half. Riley Minor made three 3s and finished with nine points. The Panthers had nothing to lose and a lot to gain as they continued to learn how to finish games, according to Perry's coach Beth Sternberg.

"We've been talking about being consistent and showing growth all year, and as you can see we are getting better every single day, and I'm just hoping we keep believing," Sternberg said.

Butch, who became Jackson's all-time winningest coach last week, knows there is more room to improve before the start of the postseason. However, he and the Bears are savoring the moment while celebrating with their Federal League trophy. Jackson will host Louisville (13-6) in a nonleague game at 6:45 p.m. Monday.

"This 12-game Federal League season has been one of the biggest grinds ... in my 18 years of coaching," Butch said. "Right now, we're going to enjoy the heck out of this and worry about the last three (regular-season) games in the future."

More: 'They found a way': Jackson boys basketball team survives, stays in Federal League race

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson High School shares Federal League girls basketball title