Matt Aschoff's young daughter Millie left the blue bleachers onto the hardwood floor Tuesday night and hugged her father.
The Blair High School coach's girls basketball team had just closed out a Class B-1 Subdistrict Tournament win at Bennington High School, besting Elkhorn North for the first time in both schools' history, 39-33. The victory secured the Bears' spot in the subdistrict final against the host Badgers and just their school's second 15-win season since 1998.
The last time BHS (15-9 overall) won 15 games or more it qualified for the 2022 NSAA Class B State Championships.
The Wolves (11-10) led Coach Aschoff's team 17-12 at halftime and 30-22 midway through the third period, but a 15-0 Bears run shifted the game. Kate Wulf hit a pair of free throws to start the scoring streak before it really took off.
After a two-point first half, Blair senior Addie Sullivan scored 10 total during the second. Her two buckets to start the fourth period pulled the Bears within 30-29.
The University of Nebraska-Kearney recruit credited her team's mental exercises with former BHS track and field coach Darren Harsin this season for her second-half turnaround. She focused in the moment without dwelling on her slow start.
“I was like, 'What happened was in the past,'” Sullivan said. “This is the moment. I need to just forget about it, move and play in the moment.”
It was junior guard Claire Anderson, however, who scored the go-ahead bucket for the Bears. Still down one point with about 5 minutes left, she hit a 3-pointer to give Aschoff's lineup the 32-30 lead.
Anderson did not hesitate.
“We had ball movement going in-and-out of the lane and side-to-side,” the guard said. “We ran the shot clock quite a bit, so I felt like it was a good shot.”
The ball felt good coming out of her hands, too.
The same could probably be said for Taytum Macholan's next attempt. The BHS sophomore hit a corner 3 to push the Bears' lead to 35-30 before Anderson's pull-up jump shot capped the game-altering scoring run.
“We just remembered we needed to play with love and compassion for each other,” Sullivan said of the turnaround. “Just play together.”
“We just had to do one possession at a time,” Anderson added. “Once we got the energy flowing and the momentum, it's hard to stop us.”
BHS went onto face Bennington on Wednesday for the subdistrict title. They lost, 55-43, but play the Badgers again 1 p.m. Saturday in a Class B district final.
CLASS B-1 SUBDISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Tuesday
Blair 39, Elkhorn North 33
EN (11-10) 7 10 13 3 — 33
BHS (15-9) 10 2 13 14 — 39
Scoring: BHS — Addie Sullivan 12, Cadence Field 9, Taytum Macholan 6, Kate Wulf 6, Claire Anderson 5, Beau Wendt 1.
EN — Kaylee Lake 10, Sahler Smith 7, Payton Palmer 4, Reagan Palmer 4, Mallory Hansen 3, Kara Kudlacz 3, Addison Bratt 2.
