ST. JOHN — Andrean coach Tony Scheub knew what he was up against entering Tuesday’s game against Lake Central.
The Indians had won six straight. They hadn’t lost to a local team this season. They’re ranked seventh in Class 4A by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. And they hadn’t lost at home this season.
Lake Central was as good as advertised, downing Andrean 68-25 in the regular-season finale for both teams.
“They can shoot it, they’re fast and they can post,” Scheub said. “Then, they bring in five more kids and those kids can do it as well. It’s a fun team to watch and not so much a fun team to play against. We want to be like Lake Central; we want to get to that level someday.”
The 59ers (9-14) committed 18 turnovers and went 0-for-12 from the field in the first half, leading to a 30-3 halftime deficit. The Indians (19-3) received a balanced effort, with 11 players scoring in the game.
More Top Picks Truck Bed Covers
Seniors Jayla Harvey, Megan Krol, Lindsay Kusbel, Ashley O’Malley, Gina Rubino and Tara Zlotkowski played in the final home game of their careers. Kusbel was the game’s high scorer with 20 points, while O’Malley hauled in a game-best seven rebounds.
The seniors were removed from the game one-by-one with six minutes remaining in regulation. Each player received a loud ovation from the home fans.
“There are a lot of emotions there,” Lake Central coach Marc Urban said. “I’ve spent three years with these kids and they’re all really special kids. They’re going on to do bigger and better things than basketball.”
Though Kusbel made it clear that she’s focused on preparing for next week’s sectional, she did take time to enjoy the moment on Tuesday. Stepping off her home court for the final time is something she won’t soon forget.
“I got the chills,” Kusbel said. “It’s great to have so much support around you; it means everything. Knowing that it’s the last game we were going to play here, we all kind of choked up for each other.”
After a lackluster first half, the 59ers stepped it up a notch after halftime. Kennedy Kuykendall totaled nine points to lead her team.
“In the first half, that was not the team that we wanted people to see play,” Scheub said. “That’s frustrating for me because I know we’re better than that. In the second half, it was good to see them come back and play hard.”
Zlotkowski backed Kusbel with 10 points, while Vicki Gard drained three 3-pointers to finish with nine points.
“We have a really balanced team, and we’ve got a really unselfish team,” Urban said. “They don’t really care who scores; they’re all about winning.”