It’s the first regional title for CJ since 2013.
Freshman Ja’Kyiah Cook had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Janae Cain scored 12 points and made a pair of threes.
“Since Summer ball, we’ve been prepping for this,” Cain said. “I can remember back in Summer ball, we were like, ‘we going to state one game at a time.’ And it was just let’s get it.”
CJ (22-4) will play either Copley or Lyndhurst Brush at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Nutter Center in the state semifinals.
The Eagles, which were the second-seed in the Southwest District, finished as runners-up this season in the Greater Catholic League Co-Ed standings behind Carroll and split a pair of regular season meetings.
CJ overcame its U. S. 35 rival when it mattered most in March.
“We knew we had a lot of talent across the board, but even back to June and getting into late Summer and early Fall, we saw the connectivity that we had,” Allen said. “Our kids were really connected and they started talking and seeing it, looking around their own gym and in their own locker room sayin, ‘I think if we really stick with this thing, we have an opportunity.’”
CJ regularly appeared to be ready to pull away in the second half after building a four-point halftime lead, but weren’t able to until the fourth quarter began. The Eagles went ahead 41-29 with 6:46 remaining as senior Maggie Bush drove in for a layup and completed a three-point play.
The Eagles managed its advantage until Carroll’s trapping defense began to force turnovers and lead into a 9-0 run to close the gap.
After Cook hit a free throw, Carroll had several opportunities in the final 90 seconds to potentially get back within one score. Senior Kiera Healy couldn’t connect on several shots from three that came one after another off of offensive rebounds. An assortment of looks from the paint followed and only bounced around the rim to the frustration of the Patriots.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
Cook hit four free throws to help seal the win in the final minute.
“I’m just glad it’s over. It felt like the longest fourth quarter of all-time,” Allen said. “Trying to hold onto a lead against a senior-led team and knowing they were gonna make a run. It was just, ‘how can we weather it?’
“We obviously had some mishaps a couple times, but overall we did a good job of killing the game out and putting ourselves in position.”
Carroll was led by 12 points by senior Eva Snyder. Fellow seniors Healy, Maura Petrovic, and Anna Cate Seltsam all had nine.
“I’m just so incredibly proud of them,” Carroll head coach Cecilia Grosselin said of her team’s resiliency. “They had a great season and they’re great individuals.”
CJ overcame a slow start to the game, needing nearly five minutes to pass before getting on the scoreboard. The Eagles transition game quickly took hold and grabbed them a 9-7 lead after the first quarter.
Carroll struggled to find ways to get the ball into the paint without shots being contested, and shot 2-for-15 from three.
Carroll finishes the season 23-4 overall.
CJ’s tournament run has twice seen them prevail against league opponents playing them for a third time. The Eagles beat Badin in the district final, before advancing past Tippecanoe on Tuesday and ultimately winning a rubber match against Carroll.
The D-III state championship game is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Friday at UD Arena.
“I’m happy for my team. Like we worked hard for this, we worked real hard,” Cain said.
Allen said he hopes his team will be able to come down emotionally from the win, but also hopes they maintain their excitement for advancing to where they believed was possible back in October.
“I’m hoping we’re out of school that day and we can have everybody out to the Nutter Center,” Allen said.
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