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Week In Pictures
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The Bearettes didn't get a point from star Tia Gibbs, but showed they're not a one-girl team by beating Franklin-Simpson 58-57 in the championship game of the Houchens Sweet Sixteen in front of a record-breaking, rowdy crowd of 6,071 at Diddle Arena.
Gibbs, a Vanderbilt signee, was so impressive the rest of the tournament that she earned Most Valuable Player honors from a local hospital.
The guard was injured in a head-on collision in the morning semifinal and left the title game at halftime to be checked out for a suspected concussion, said Terry Keown, a school official.
"We had to step up and show we could play without her," said junior Tiara Hopper, who scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Butler. "We won it for her. This is for Tia."
Gibbs had been injured a few times this season, and the Bearettes had to learn to play without her, which paid off in the form of Butler's third state championship and its first since 1980.
"We're a family and we do it for family, and it was time for all of us to step up," guard Whitney Reed said.
Her free throws with 17 seconds left gave Butler (33-5) a three-point cushion.
"They were very nerve-wracking," the sophomore said of the foul shots. "I almost cried. I think I did cry up there a little bit, but then I saw my Butler fans in the background and knew I was fine."
Chastity Gooch's putback with five seconds left pulled Franklin-Simpson within a point 58-57, but the freshman missed the subsequent foul shot that would have tied it.
Reed missed the front end of a one-and-one two seconds later and set up a Kelleshia Cook heave that went wide left.Cook led the Wildcats with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Gooch added 17 points and five rebounds.
"I thought it was in," Coach Lex Lindsey said. "I thought it was the storybook. I thought it was the storybook ending, but it didn't happen."
Instead, it was a storybook ending for first-year coach Eddy Wilson and Butler.
Although he almost didn't make it to the end of the game.
"My heart stopped with two minutes to go," he said. "I didn't breathe. I didn't do anything. This is overwhelming, so overwhelming."
Butler's win really was a team effort, with five different players contributing seven or more points in the victory, its seventh straight.
Freshman reserve Heather Wheat gave Butler its first lead of the game on her shot in the lane midway through the third quarter, and the guard finished with eight points and four assists in place of Gibbs.
It was a lead they would never surrender.
"They believe in each other," Wilson said. "That really showed tonight."
Gibbs didn't seem herself in the first half, missing her six shot attempts. They were shots she'd been making throughout the tournament, where she had been averaging 28.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 3.3 assists.
Her 85 total points in three games tied her for the 15th-best individual point performance in a state tournament.
It seemed fitting that her teammates collected her MVP trophy at midcourt as the Butler crowd chanted: "We love Tia. We love Tia."
Nearby, Cook was huddled on the ground crying near where she launched her final shot. Her coach held her tightly. The embrace lasted nearly three minutes as Butler celebrated nearby.
He couldn't be disappointed, though.
"These kids have nothing to be ashamed of, and I'm so, so proud of them."
Butler 58, Franklin-Simpson 57
FRanklin-Simpson (33-3) -- Brown 0-2 0-0 0, D. Cook 0-3 0-3 0, K. Cook 5-8 5-7 19, Hilliard 0-1 0-0 0, D. Gooch 4-9 0-1 10, Jernigan 0-0 0-0 0, Nolan 0-0 0-2 0, Payne 4-8 3-6 11, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, C. Gooch 8-11 1-3 17. Totals 21-42 9-22 57.
Butler (33-6) -- Wheat 3-6 2-4 8, Pile 4-9 0-0 8, Pearson 0-0 0-0 0, Harris 2-6 3-4 7, Bates 1-2 0-0 3, Gibbs 0-6 0-0 0, Hopper 6-14 3-5 15, Cureton 4-4 0-1 9, Reed 3-8 2-3 8. Totals 23-55 10-17 58.
Franklin-Simpson 13 13 13 18--57
Butler 10 14 16 18--58
Three-point goals--Franklin-Simpson 6-15 (K. Cook 4-6, D. Gooch 2-6, Hilliard 0-1, D. Cook 0-2), Butler 2-8 (Cureton 1-1, Bates 1-2, Wheat 0-1, Reed 0-1, Pile 0-3). Rebounds--Franklin-Simpson 30 (K. Cook 11), Butler 38 (Hopper 11). Assists--Franklin-Simpson 13 (K. Cook 8), Butler 12 (Wheat 4). Fouled out--Harris. Total fouls--Franklin-Simpson 17, Butler 21. Turnovers--Franklin-Simpson 19, Butler 12. A--6,071.
All-Tournament Team
MVP -- Tia Gibbs, Butler
Tiara Hopper, Brittany Harris, Butler; Chastity Gooch, Brittnay Payne, Kelleshia Cook, Franklin-Simpson; Jenna Goblirsch, Alex Jones, Elizabethtown; Danielle Woodmore, Brittany Wilson, Manual; Maggie Prewitt, Montgomery Co.; Rinesha Soaper, Henderson Co.; Mariah Robinson, Ohio Co.; Kendall Noble, Breathitt Co.
Joe Billy Mansfield Award -- Christine Burton, Johnson Central
KABC Patty Jo Hedges Award -- Maggie Prewitt, Montgomery Co.
Forcht Group Sportsmanship Award -- Kelleshia Cook, Franklin-Simpson
