TWO-TIME CHAMPS STILL ON STOP

No. 1 Heritage Christian has little problem with No. 3 Austin

By Greg Mengelt of Inside the Game

Austin's goal of advancing to the state championship game came up one game short as the Eagles were knocked off by two-time defending champion and Class 2A's top-ranked Heritage Christian.

The Eagles were led by their three All-State candidates. Junior Kelly Faris, who is reportedly decided whether to play at Connecticut or Notre Dame in two seasons, had 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Freshman Liz Stratman dominated inside with 22 points and nine rebounds, and Butler recruit Claire Freeman -- a junior -- had 14 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Emily Anderson also had 18 points, hitting 6 of her 8 shots from the field.

"They're amazingly talented," Austin coach Jared Petersen said. "When you play them, you have a very thin margin of error. You have to click on all cylinders and we didn't do that."

Austin was in the game early. After going on a 10-6 run in the final 3:01 of the first quarter, the Eagles trailed just 23-19 at the end of the first quarter.

After Heritage opened the second quarter by scoring the first seven points, Austin went on an 8-2 run to get back within 32-27. It was 38-34 before Heritage went on an 8-0 run -- led by Stratman's four points -- to lead 46-34 at halftime. Austin never got within single-digits again.

Sophomore Katy McIntosh led Austin with 19 points, but was just 5 for 17 from the field. Chelsea Jones added 14 points, but she was just 5 for 17 and 4 for 12 from behind the 3-point arc. Michelle Goodin had 17 points and eight rebounds, and freshmen Kelly Hollan contributed with eight points and six steals.

"She came in and really got after it," Petersen said. "She came a long way this year. I really pictured her, before the season, playing full-time JV, but toward the end of the season she earned more and more (varsity) playing time."