SOUTH BEND — Elkhart Memorial piled up the points in a game-deciding run in the third quarter versus Michigan City Wednesday night.
City coach Mike Megyese then piled on the postgame praise for the undefeated Class 4-A No. 4 Crimson Chargers and their star Akyah Taylor.
Taylor, along with Alyssa Wagner and Khadijah Moore, led the second-half charge as Memorial rolled to a 55-36 girls high school basketball victory in the title tilt of the South Bend Holiday Tourney at Adams.
Taylor, who sat the final 9:54 of the opening half in foul trouble, was nothing but trouble for the Wolves in the final half. The Michigan State-bound forward netted 15 of her game-high 17 points and corralled nine of her 12 rebounds in the final two stanzas.
Moore showed why she’s one of the top freshmen around. The athletic and versatile 5-11 forward had 13 points and snared 14 caroms.
Memorial (13-0), which used an 18-0 run in the pivotal third period to claim the title again, got strong play in that stretch from reserves Wagner and Haleigh Jones. Wagner, who scored 10 points, hit a pair of treys and Jones, who had seven points, was big on the boards. Jones, a 6-1 forward, collected eight caroms and three blocked shots.
“Memorial is the best team in the northern half of the state and the second best in the state (to Ben Davis),” praised Megyese, his team 11-2. “Akyah should be Miss Basketball. She is the best player in the state. She does it all and makes everyone on her team better.”
Memorial led just 16-13 at halftime. The Chargers were 5-of-28 from the field and 6-of-17 from the line, while City shot 4-of-30 from the field in the opening half.
Memorial amped it up in the third period on defense. The Chargers’ 18-0 run, keyed by forcing turnovers and converting them into transition points, made it 34-15.
“We improved and got better tonight,” said Memorial coach Larry Fielstra. “Our kids were excited to go tonight. I felt pretty good at half to be up, considering we couldn’t make a shot or a free throw and Akyah was in foul trouble.
“We’re starting to understand some things on defense with what we want to do, and that was big in that third-quarter run. We’re deeper this year and our bench is definitely contributing. I’m real happy with Alyssa and Haleigh tonight. They did a great job and Khadijah had a coming-out party. She has no idea how good she can be.
“Akyah is the best player in the state. It all starts with her for us. She’s ready to go every game and is our leader.”
Sophomore Toni Murphy led City with 11 points. The Wolves, who were 12-of-59 from the field for the game, missed Angelique Moore. The senior forward, who averaged 8.8 ppg in the first six games, is out with an ankle/Achilles injury.
“We were even for a half and my kids battled them the whole game,” Megyese said. “That one blitz, where we didn’t react well, was the knockout punch. They are more experienced, and it showed in that 18-0 stretch. We’ll fix some things, learn from this and get better.”
3-point goals: City 1 (Clifton), Memorial 2 (Wagner 2). Shooting: City 12-59, Memorial 20-57. Rebounds: City 37 (Cooper 12), Memorial 43 (Moore 14, Taylor 12). Turnovers: City 18, Memorial 12. Total fouls (fouled out): City 22 (Cooper, Gondek), Memorial 21. Officials: Brad Harris, Ron Day, Tom Hinz. Team Records: City 11-2, Memorial 13-0.
3-point goals: Tri-Central 3 (Shaffer 3), Bowman 3 (German 3). Total fouls (fouled out): Tri-Central 12, Bowman 14. Team Records: Tri-Central 10-3, Bowman 6-6.
MARIAN (34): Erin Guzicki 4, Katie Barnard 11, Gabby Veldman 5, Kathleen Kavanagh 10, Jordan Stoler 0, Amanda Irvine 4. TOTALS: 12 8-10 34.
ADAMS (32): Taloni Reese 12, Jenna Thomas 1, Ashley Locke 0, K’ya Toles 4, Becky Owens 4, Amani Morgan 4, Daijn Wesson 0, Dominique Morgan 7. TOTALS: 11 10-20 32.
3-point goals: Marian 2 (Kavanagh),. Total fouls (fouled out): Marian 13 (none), Adams 13 (none). Team Records: Marian 5-8, Adams 4-12.
CLAY (57): Carneisha Dunlap 6, Katie Ladouceur 15, Michelle Adeniyi 15, Shawnece Watson 10, Sasha Gabrich 4, Sam Burrows 2, Valerie Chavers 5, Toria Sullivan 5, KenzieMiller 0. TOTALS: 21 12-26 57.
RILEY (48): Kelsey Machjer 12, Kerria Columbus 10, Marlena Richardson 0, Ariel Hudson 6, Carmen Shaw 5, Turquoise Patton 13, Morgan Allison 2, Brooke Lubinski 0. TOTALS: 18 9-19 48.
3-point goals: Clay 2 (Watson), Riley 3 (Columbus, Hudson, Patton). Total fouls (fouled out): Clay 19 (Dunlap, Watson, Gabrich), Riley 23 (Columbus, Hudson). Team Records: Clay 1-12, Riley 1-14.
3-point goals: Bowman 3 (German 3), Adams 3 (Reese 3). Total fouls (fouled out): Bowman 20 (Jordan), Adams 13. Team Records: Bowman 6-5, Adams 4-11.
3-point goals: Memorial 5 (Barnett 3, Jones 2), Riley 1 (Smith). Total fouls (fouled out): Memorial 11, Riley Team Records: Memorial 12-0, Riley 1-13.
3-point goals: City 1 (Collins), Marian 2 (Kavanagh 2). . Total fouls (fouled out): City 11, Marian 15. Team Records: City 11-1, Marian 4-8.
3-point goals: Clay 1 (Burrows), Tri-Central 6 (Shaffer 4, Walker 2). Total fouls (fouled out): Clay 17, Tri=-Central 13. Team Records: Clay 0-0-12, Tri-Central 9-3.
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