Toughness, free throws help Bremen girls to first regional title since 1986

ELKHART — Coach Alex Robinson’s young Bremen Lions girls basketball team came into the season with few expectations.

Next Saturday, the Lions, who have one senior on the roster, will be playing in the Class 3A northern semistate.

With sophomore Eliana Grubbs scoring 14 points, junior Kila Foster scoring 12 and sophomore Emma Kincaid adding 11, Bremen advanced with a 41-37 victory over Hanover Central at Jimtown High School for the school’s third regional championship and first since back-to-back titles in 1985 and 1986.

Related: How each South Bend area girls basketball team advanced to Saturday's regional championship games

The victory was the seventh straight for the 15-11 Lions, who finished tied for sixth place in the competitive Northern Indiana Conference. It follows three victories in the Rochester sectional, the last a 55-53 overtime triumph over favored Tippecanoe Valley.

Robinson, who has two sectional titles on his resumé, is not surprised.

“We knew we could be competitive in our sectional,” Robinson said. “At the beginning of the season, getting to this point was one of our goals. But now that we’re here, we’re excited and want to keep going.”

One of the reasons the Lions are advancing is their free-throw accuracy. Coach Larry Govert’s Hanover Central squad made four more field goals than the Lions. But Bremen hit 18 of 24 free throws while Hanover Central made only 4 of 8.

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The Lions overcame 16 turnovers (to Hanover Central’s 12) and won the battle of the boards 33-31 with 5-foot-10 junior Naomi Moyer pulling down 10.

“The biggest thing was our toughness,” Robinson said. “To be in a game like that, we could have gotten down on ourselves the way they started the fourth quarter. We might not have won earlier in the season, but we’ve been through it. We’re an experienced team now and battle-hardened.”

The Wildcats trailed 30-22 entering the fourth quarter and made a 12-4 run at the start, eight of the points coming from senior guard Skylar Ferry, who had a game-high 15 points for coach Larry Govert’s team which closed at 17-8.

But Foster made a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Lions the lead for good with 2:04 remaining.

“Coach told us before the game we had to have a lot of energy and to play together,” said Foster, who scored eight of her 12 points after halftime. “This means a lot because we haven’t won a regional in a while.”

Grubbs sealed the victory with four free throws in the final minutes. She had just four points at halftime but then added 10 after the intermission with three baskets.

“Coach told us when it got close to stay focused, to slow it down and try to work the ball in,” Grubbs added.

Kincaid, meanwhile, made eight of her 11 points from the charity stripe. With 90 seconds left, an official took a look at her and called an official timeout to make sure she was able to continue.

“Everything kind of hurt today,” said Kincaid, who stayed in the game.

She and her Bremen teammates can handle the pain as they move on next weekend.

BREMEN 41, HANOVER CENTRAL 37

Class 3A-Regional 9 at Jimtown High School

HANOVER CENTRAL (37): Emmi Doty 7, Sienna Stilley 7, Gabi Comia 4, Skylar Ferry 15, Bridget Noel 1, Sienna Antkiewicz 3, Natalie Eckart 0, Kaitlin Duffy 0, Ava Vanderhye 0, TOTALS 14 4-8 37.

BREMEN (41): Kila Foster 12, Mikayla Shively 4, Emma Kincaid 11, Eliana Grubbs 14, Naomi Moyer 0, Teagan Feathers 0, Emma Lawmaster 0, TOTALS 10 18-24 41.

Hanover Central | 6 | 14 | 22 | 37

Bremen | 5 | 15 | 30 | 41

3-point goals: Hanover Central 5 (Ferry 3, Doty 1, Antkiewicz 1), Bremen 3 (Foster 2, Kincaid 1). Shooting: Hanover Central 14 of 48 for 29.2 percent, Bremen 10 of 32 for 31.3 percent. Rebounds: Hanover Central 31 (S. Stilley 5), Bremen 33 (Moyer 10). Turnovers: Hanover Central 12, Bremen 16. Total fouls (fouled out): Hanover Central 19 (Doty), Bremen 14 (none). Records: Hanover Central 17-8, Bremen 15-11.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Bremen High School girls basketball wins IHSAA Class 3A regional crown