So Close

Heading into Saturday's Girl's 2A State Finals, Oak Hill (#2 ranked) had its work cut out for them as they faced top ranked Heritage Christian. Heritage Christian was looking for their fourth straight state title. These two teams met in last year's state finals with Heritage Christian winning big.

I honestly don't think HC thought Oak Hill would give them a game. The Heritage Christian team only lost one game this season and it wasn't even a team from Indiana. Oak Hill gave HC more than they thought. Oak Hill led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter and should have won the game. OH had the last possession of regulation and couldn't get a shot off. It looked like this classic match was headed for double overtime before Heritage Christian's Claire Freeman’s shot with :03 seconds remaining in overtime gave Heritage Christian a 60-58 overtime win over Oak Hill for its fourth consecutive 2A state title. Heartbreaking to say the least! Oak Hill had a great following, the biggest of the morning sessions.

Here is how Oak Hill's Todd Law reacted after the game:

“I can’t be prouder of my team. We played in this game a year ago and I thought the enormity of the game affected our play. … We worked all off season to try to get ourselves back here and show the state what kind of team we have. I think they did a phenomenal job of that today. Words can’t say how disappointed we are right now, but when the sting goes away a little, they know they can walk out of here with their heads held high. Not only did they give their best effort, but they played extremely well. … I thought we did a tremendous job of executing our game plan. We wanted to try to get the ball inside and drive to the basket. … Defensively, we were playing a great team and I thought we took some things away from them. It came down to a last-second play, kind of on a freaky shot. Tough way to lose the state championship

It was a game these girls or its fans will never forget! The Golden Eagles represented Oak Hill in a classy way, and in my book, are still state champions!