GBB 4A STATE FINAL: #1 Ben Davis finishes with a flourish

FORT WAYNE – Dominating offense and overwhelming defense were the recipe for success for Stan Benge and top-ranked Ben Davis March 6 in the Class 4A state championship game. The Giants earned their second consecutive state title and set seven individual game state finals records in the process in a 99-52 victory over No. 5 Merrillville.

Ben Davis’ 99 points are a new state finals record for any class, topping the 90 points scored by Class A Bloomfield in 1998 against Morgan Township. The Giants’ 22 steals are the most in any state finals game, topping their own 2001 record set against Fort Wayne Snider.

The teams also combined to set a new state finals record for most combined points in a quarter in a 4A game as Ben Davis (28-0) poured in 35 points in the third quarter while Merrillville (25-2) added 18. The combined total of 54 topped the 2007 4A third-quarter total of 53 by South Bend Washington and Columbus East.

Junior Bria Goss, who had 22 points, and senior Demetria Nunley-Lash, who added 20, led the way for coach Stan Benge’s Giants, who got 10 players in the scorebook on the night. A huge key in the contest was the turnover differential as Ben Davis committed only six but forced a whopping 32 Merrillville miscues.

With the win, Ben Davis also established a new state record for consecutive victories with 58. (Fort Wayne Northrop held the old mark with 57 wins in a row from 1985-87.) That dominance dates back to the 2008-09 season, when the Giants went 30-0 and defeated South Bend Washington, 71-69, in a thrilling state title game. 

The Giants also became the first Indiana basketball team, boys or girls, to complete two consecutive undefeated seasons.

Senior guard Bryonna Davis was a bright spot for coach Amy Govert’s Merrillville Pirates, who were making their first appearance in the state finals. Davis scored 25 points on 9-for-15 shooting, while sophomore guard Raveen Murry added nine points.

Coaches’ quotes:

“I’m so happy the way these four seniors went out. It’s something I wanted for them; they all played outstanding. If you’ve got to lose them, this is the way to finish the year.”

On recent success: “A lot came together the right way. We’ve got four outstanding seniors, a great supporting staff, including parents and coaches. I have the best three assistants in the state. With all of those people and the great community and administration, it leads to this type of success. It just doesn’t happen all the time.”

On the kids playing with passion: “All the passion and energy comes from inside. It comes out in practice – in the game you’ve just got to be calm. We have high expectations for all of us.”

On playing with intensity: “This was the last 32 minutes you were going to play as a team, so how do you not be ready to play? We did have a sloppy second quarter, but we told them at half this was now the last 16 minutes to play as a team and to go out and show everyone how good you are.”

“No one else can say we made it this far to the state finals in 4A. I was very proud of these kids. If we would have taken care of the ball early, it might have been a little better.”

“We could have easily quit and put our heads down. In the second quarter, we played them even. We knew we needed to take care of the ball and rebound. We didn’t do either very well tonight.”

“Ben Davis puts a lot of pressure on the ball. They are obviously a very good defensive team. I am proud to say we played Ben Davis for the state championship – there’s no shame in that.”

“This season was the best in school history. It was due to all the hard work by these seniors. We battled all year, especially with injuries. We don’t have any player bigger than 5’9”. We never quit tonight even though we were down – this shows the character of this team.”

“We represented ‘The Region’ well. A Region team has not made it to the state finals in a long time.”

On Bryonna Davis’ play: “She is one of the top scorers in school history. She will be taking her game to Michigan State next year, and they will be lucky to have her.”

Following the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Dee Dee Williams of Ben Davis High School as the winner of the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, will present a $1,000 scholarship to the school in her name.

The award is named in honor of former IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Patricia L. Roy, who oversaw the girls basketball state tournament from its inception in 1976 until her retirement in 1999. It’s presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who was nominated by her principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.

“Dee Dee is an exceptional student-athlete who is a model for the behavior, attitude, and work ethic that this award represents,” said Ben Davis Principal Joel McKinney.”She has always put the team before herself and plays with a level of sportsmanship and humility that is second to none.”

Williams helped lead her team to back-to-back state championships and is a candidate for Indiana’s Miss Basketball award. She also played volleyball for the Giants and was named to the All-County and All-State teams.

The daughter of Charlene and Richard Williams of Indianapolis has served as a tutor and has volunteered both at her church and retirement homes in her community. She is a member of the National Honor Society and Senior Mentor Program, and she has participated in the NCAA Stay in Bounds program. 

Williams will attend Purdue University this fall on a basketball scholarship.

The box score:

Ben Davis 30 12 36 21 – 99

Merrillville 10 12 18 12 – 52

## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min

00 HOLCOMB, VIVIAN f 5-7 0-0 2-3 3 0 3 3 12 2 0 2 1 22

15 NUNLEY-LASH, DEMETRIA f 9-14 0-0 2-4 5 0 5 1 20 2 1 0 6 23

02 WILLIAMS, DEE DEE g 7-12 0-1 0-0 3 5 8 1 14 5 1 2 3 23

05 HUBER, JORDAN g 3-13 3-10 0-0 0 4 4 4 9 2 1 0 1 18

13 GOSS, BRIA g 7-14 0-0 8-9 3 5 8 2 22 6 1 0 5 24

03 DOWLER, HUNTER 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3

10 WINDHAM, JAZMINE 3-7 0-3 2-2 0 2 2 1 8 3 1 0 1 15

12 KIMBALL, JANEE’ 0-1 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 10

20 NICHOLSON, ASHLIE 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

32 MILLS-HARRIS, JADE 3-7 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 6 1 1 0 4 12

40 JONES, AMBER 2-4 0-0 0-2 3 2 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 7

Totals 40-81 3-14 16-22 19 23 42 15 99 21 6 4 22 160

FG % 1st Half: 17-39 43.6%, 2nd half: 23-42 54.8%, Game: 40-81 49.4%

3FG % 1st Half: 1-9 11.1%, 2nd half: 2-5 40.0%, Game: 16-22 72.7%

FT % 1st Half: 7-9 77.8%, 2nd half: 9-13 69.2%, Game: 3-14 21.4%

## Player FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA Off Def Tot PF TP A TO Blk Stl Min

30 HAWKINS, LYDIA f 3-8 0-0 1-2 2 4 6 0 7 0 4 0 0 30

42 MITCHEL, TRACEE f 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 7 8 4 4 1 3 1 1 30

10 MERRIWEATHER, LATOI g 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 1 3 0 1 22

14 MURRAY, RAVEEN g 3-9 1-1 2-4 0 1 1 2 9 2 7 0 1 29

22 DAVIS, BRYONNA g 9-15 3-6 4-11 0 7 7 3 25 2 10 0 1 29

11 BROWN, CHAMBRIA 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

12 MILLER, JASMYNE 0-2 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 1 0 1 2 0 0 11

20 THOMPSON, BRIANNA 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1

23 WADE, JASMINE 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 3 0 1 1 0 4

25 BANASHAK, AMANDA 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

32 COLE, KACEY 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

40 WILLIAMSON, ROBIN 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1

Totals 20-44 5-9 7-17 7 26 33 12 52 7 32 2 4 160

FG % 1st Half: 10-25 40.0%, 2nd half: 10-19 52.6%, Game: 20-44 45.5%

3FG % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0%, 2nd half: 4-7 57.1%, Game: 5-9 55.6%

FT % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3%, 2nd half: 6-14 42.9%, Game: 7-17 41.2%

Points …

• In Paint: BD 70, Merrillville 20

• Off T/O: BD 45, Merrillville 11 

• 2nd Chance: BD 24, Merrillville 8 

• Fast Break: BD 22, Merrillville 10

• Bench: BD 22, Merrillville 5

Largest lead: Ben Davis by 47 4th-00:04, Merrillville none

Score ties: 3

Lead changes: 0

Officials: Michael Stoffers, Jay Slater, Darren Wright

Attendance: 7,032