Chants of ‘BHS’ filled the air late in the fourth quarter of the 1A final as Borden claimed their first state title in school history 49-40 over Lafayette Central Catholic on March 1 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
At the 1A level, Lafayette Central Catholic is no stranger to Gainbridge Fieldhouse — having two titles and a runner-up finish in the last decade.
Fueled by an impressive group of supporters in the stands, the Braves brought the energy to start the game to go up 7-3 against the Knights.
“There is not much to do in Borden besides cheer on local school sports,” Borden head coach Matt Vick said. “It’s been awesome seeing so many fans up here cheering for us.
However, that high lead was short-lived, as Lafayette Central Catholic went on a blistering 22-5 run and took a 25-12 lead at the start of the second quarter.
The Braves would not scrap their way to the state title game just to give up; though, as a passionate timeout speech from head coach Matt Vick fueled a 12-0 run to end the first half.
Fueled by high-energy play from juniors Ava Wheeler, Riley Rarick and AJ Mallad, Borden lengthened the run into the second half — capping it at a 23-0 run deep into the third quarter.
“It’s pretty crazy to hold a team scoreless that long in the state championship,” Vick said. “[Midway through the second quarter down 25-12] I told the girls you can sit on the bench and watch us lose or get out there and something different.”
Wheeler contributed all over the court for Borden with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four blocks and three steals as the Braves outscored Lafayette Central Catholic 37-24 in the last three quarters of the game.
“I have talked about this since the eighth grade,” Wheeler said. “We wanted to be the team that won it, and I didn’t know that girls basketball had never won anything before.
While Wheeler did a bit of everything, it was Rarick who capitalized on the relaxed perimeter defense from Lafayette Central Catholic — reasonably letting a team shooting 23% from deep on the season shoot away.
Rarick went 3-5 from deep, racking up 16 total points to lead all scorers.
Bringing the first state title to a school is a feeling only one team will ever get to feel, that school pride and glory is not one these Braves will take for granted.
“We’ve been wanting to do this since we were little,” Rarick said. “We knew we had the potential to do it and we just had to execute it.”
Bringing a full lineup back next season, the Braves are already eyeing aspirations to repeat as champions next season.
“I told the girls [before the season] that we have a really good chance to go [back-to-back],” Vick said. “I was telling them in the locker room [that] part one is complete, how sweet would part two be?”