For the Daily Journal
Indian Creek senior center Celina McElroy picked a good time for her best showing of the season.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been absent, but I didn’t live up to my potential (this season),” McElroy said. “This was my last hurrah and I needed to play to my full potential.”
McElroy scored 23 points to lead the Braves to a 51-24 rout of visiting Northview in the Western Indiana Conference third-place game. The Braves (12-9) finish with a 5-1 conference record.
“It was a good way to end our home season,” said McElroy, who had a 3-pointer and hit all four of her free throws.
McElroy scored eight points in the first quarter as the Braves led 10-7 after one.
“She started off the game on fire. That’s how you like to see seniors come out,” Braves coach Brian Ferris said. “That was a nice boost to get us started.”
Leading 19-14 at halftime, the Braves outscored Northview 15-8 in the third quarter to take a 34-22 lead. McElroy had 10 points in the period.
The Knights (14-7, 4-2) had just two free throws in the final quarter.
“Early on their zone slowed us down a lot,” Ferris said. “We’re a transition team. We were getting shots up but not hitting. We weren’t finding a good rhythm. At halftime we reminded them we want to push it. They took that to heart in the second half and we started to go faster. We were able to get more of a cushion and fight to the end.”
Hampering the Knights in the final quarter was junior forward Jenny Lundy going out with a leg injury.
“You hate to see a player like here go down like that, and that took the wind out of their sails,” Ferris said. “Not surprising, because she’s a heck of a player. I hope she is OK and it’s just a tweak.”
Lundy left with a team-high 10 points for the Knights, who struggled offensively much of the game.
The Braves were able to play everyone.
“It was nice to get the seven seniors a lot of playing time,” Ferris said. “Some of the seniors haven’t got much playing time this year and it was nice to get them that time on their last time on (home) court.”
Senior Addie Rund and junior Caitlyn Snyder each had seven points for the Braves.
