Brookfield Girls Come Up Short In State Final

The Brookfield Lady Bobcats knew they couldn't afford another slow start against the experienced class M powerhouse Kolbe Cathedral if they wanted to achieve their dream of winning the state championship.  Unfortunately their game plan didn't work and Kolbe raced out to an early 9-0 lead and never looked back from there in a convincing 64-50 state championship victory. 

The win for Kolbe put them at 6-1 in state championships since 2002, a dominating stretch for a dominating team.  Brookfield was playing in their first ever-state final and the loss ended an amazing season that saw them go 22-5.

"We wanted to control the tempo but when they get out to a 9-0 lead it makes it tough," head coach Maura Keenan said after the difficult defeat.  "It makes you feel like you need to score. "

Senior team leader Brittany Martelle tried to spark the team by looking for her shot.  She scored four straight points at the end of the 1st quarter to cut Kolbe's lead to 17-9 and keep the Lady Bobcats in the game.  Junior Jamie Bickelhaupt had a big 2nd quarter, scoring 11 points in the half but it wasn't enough to keep Kolbe from running out to a 31-20 halftime lead.

"We felt like we were ready, we practiced against the boys this week and we thought it helped.  They were too strong.  We tried to recover but we couldn't keep up," said coach Keenan.

Kolbe dominated the glass in the 1st half, pulling down 16 rebounds and forcing Brookfield to commit 11 turnovers.  Senior point guard Imani Garcia set the tempo forcing the ball up court and getting the ball inside to Kolbe's two forwards.  Senior Tiarrah Thompson and junior Cherelle Moore had eight points apiece going into the break.

The game got out of hand quickly in the 3rd quarter as Brookfield had no answers for Thompson inside.  The player of the game ended up with 21 points and 15 rebounds.

"I think number 23 was the difference in the game tonight," added Keenan.

The lead ballooned all the way up to 26 points midway through the 4th quarter as Kolbe continued to force turnovers and run the fast-break.  The Lady Bobcats also suffered through a miserable night shooting the ball, helping Kolbe get out and run.

With just under four minutes remaining in the game coach Keenan pulled her starters knowing that is was not meant to be.  Martelle finished with 14 points, adding to her school record for most points scored by either boy or girl in a season.  Bickelhaupt ended up with a team high 16 points.

The Brookfield reserves finished the game on a 16-6 run to make the game respectable, while the starters cheered on from the sidelines.

"That was the future of Brookfield basketball," said the coach who was already thinking of next season.

As for this season, even though it was Kolbe Cathedral who danced on the Mohegan Sun Arena court with the trophy, Keenan wouldn't have had it any other way.

"The team is upset, anytime you are in a competitive situation you want to win. The tears for tonight are more for the season being over though.  This is a very tight group of girls.  No one expected us to be here.  It was a great run and I wouldn't have wanted to be here with any other group of players."