Griffith wins ugly for third straight title

Updated: March 23, 2011 1:58PM

Call her the Silent Assassin.

Griffith sophomore Samantha Adams doesn't look like someone that is going to dominate scoring categories but her quickness and eye for the ball suggest otherwise.

Adams knocked down the Panthers' first two field goals and finished off Andrean with four free throws and two steals in overtime as Griffith won its third straight sectional championship with a 38-31 win over the 59ers in the Class 3A Calumet final Saturday night.

The 5-foot-7 lefty finished with a team-high 12 points and three steals for Griffith (15-6).

"She brings a lot of energy to the court," said senior Ashley Parish, who scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds. "She's so fast and she reads the ball so well. She'll score 19 points against someone and you'll look in the paper the next day and say, ‘How did she do that?' She's a silent scorer."

Her offense was desperately needed Saturday as Griffith managed to score just one point in the first quarter. Adams knocked down three field goals in the second quarter to ignite a 7-0 run and get the team within two points (15-13) at halftime.

The second half was much the same for both teams.

Saying the offenses struggled the entire contest is putting it lightly. Each team knew each other's moves having faced each other twice this season and having scouted each other at the four-team Wheeler Tournament over Christmas break.

So a defensive battle was expected.

"We had a hard time on offense mainly because of their defense," Griffith coachTom Golumbeck said of the contest that was just 27-27 at the end of regulation. "They know everything we do and we know everything they do. It couldn't have been a fun game to watch."

The Panthers made history in the victory claiming their third straight sectional championship, a feat usually reserved for their football program.

"It's an amazing feeling," Parish said. "Us and the football teams are now the only programs that can say they've won three sectionals in a row and everybody knows Griffith football."

The 59ers (14-9) had several chances in the fourth quarter to put the game away and avoid overtime but a couple missed free throws and a traveling call with 48.9 seconds left gave the Panthers the ball and the chance to run out the clock for one shot.

Andrean (12-for-41) shot 1-for-6 in overtime, while Griffith (10-for-34) didn't take a single field goal attempt officially. The Panthers, however, made it count at the line knocking down 11-of-15 from the charity stripe in the final four minutes to outscore the 59ers 11-4 in the final frame.

"We're not the best free throw shooting team but these girls focused and made it count when the pressure was on," Golumbeck said.

Andrean senior Kelsie Plesac had a team-high 10 points, while Natasha Zurek (10 rebounds) and Ana Nicksic added six points each.

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