The realization hit Marquette junior Morgan Crook with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“I looked back at one of the (Nolan) twins and said, ‘We just won this basketball game,'” said Crook, a 5-foot-5 guard. “The lead was only three points. But sometimes that momentum gets to you and you know it when it hits you.”
Junior Emmery Joseph had just made one free throw and added a second to put Marquette up by four points.
And 40 seconds later, Crook was right. Marquette was the Class 1A state champion as the Blazers defeated Vincennes Rivet 38-31.
But the program’s first state title didn’t come easy. Marquette (27-2) had to overcome early foul trouble, along with a spirited Vincennes (26-3) ranked No. 2 in the state — just behind the No. 1 Blazers.
“I don’t think that was Plan A for the game,” Marquette coach Katie Collignon said. “We had some foul trouble early on, especially in the first quarter. Luckily, some players came on who really stepped up for us.”
Emma and Sophia Nolan, both Saint Louis recruits, picked up three fouls in the first half. But Sophia wasn’t worried when they checked out of the game.
“I believed in our bench,” Sophia said. “I didn’t have any doubts.”
Sophomore forward Ally McConnell was one of those bench players, chipping in on the defensive end and helping the Blazers set a Class A record for fewest points allowed in the state championship game.
Claire Salyer, meanwhile, scored nine points and hit two crucial 3-pointers, including one that gave Marquette a 27-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“I tried to zone out the crowd and not let it affect me,” Salyer said. “But hearing from our bench boosted my energy.”
More Top Picks Air Fryer
The game was tied 31-31 with 2:16 left before Emma Nolan found her sister open on her way to the basket for two of Sophia’s team-high 12 points that put the Blazers ahead for good.
It was the kind of play that Vincennes had denied several other times during the game.
“We knew they were focusing on the (Nolan) twins inside,” Collignon said. “But like any offense you run, the more you work it, the harder the defense has to work. We did a good job of being patient and that’s what opened it up.”
After Vincennes failed to score on its ensuing possession, four straight Vincennes fouls put Marquette in the bonus and sent Emmery to the line for the free throws that iced the game in Crook’s mind.
Crook, who had a game-high six assists, then put things further out of reach with a long pass to Emma Nolan for an easy layup that cemented the victory in everyone’s mind.
Collignon said there was one key difference between Marquette this season and the 2016-17 team that lost at semistate.
“It was our confidence level,” she said. “That was the one thing we were missing at semistate last year. I spent most of that game telling them we were going to win and they had to believe it. I didn’t have to do that (on Saturday).”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.