Wood Memorial tops Union City for Class 1A state title
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - With 48.7 seconds left in the Class 1A championship game, Wood Memorial senior Brenna Maikranz left the court and jumped into a hug with Coach Johnnie Bartley.
Maikranz was key in the Trojans 68-43 win Saturday over Union City in the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 1A State Championship in Indianapolis.
It was Wood Memorial's first state title in program history. Maikranz' 26-point performance was just eight points shy of matching the state record for points scored in a title game.
She was awarded the Mental Attitude Award.
During the postgame ceremony, Maikranz was surrounded by most of her family. Absent was her mother who died a year ago of uterine cancer.
"Brenna doesn't talk about it. She never talks about it, but I'll talk about it," Bartley said. "This kid had a pretty tough couple of years. She lost her mom at the end of the season last year after a long battle. She and the rest of her team were very close to her mother and Brenna never let that affect her when she played basketball."
"She's driven," Bartley added. "She has a toughness in her that she got from her mother. I can look out there when times are tough, and when I see (Brenna) out there, I know we're going to be OK."
At the opening of Saturday's game, the Wood Memorial starters quickly settled into a rhythm, biding their time as they looked for open lanes and clear shots.
Union City had trouble settling down.
"Today, our shots just weren't falling," junior Justiss Cantu said. "I don't know any other way to put it. They just weren't falling for us."
Cantu finished with 18 points.
The Trojans showed a clear sense of control that included 10 steals and 20 second-chance points. Wood Memorial took a 9-8 lead and remained in front the rest of the game.
When Maikranz slowed down in the second half, senior Carsen Robinson stepped up with 14 points and Sydney Day added 11 points.