photo by: Andrew Grimm

Indian Creek receives their district championship trophy.

NEW PHILADELPHIA – With West Holmes having nearly erased a 17-point Indian Creek lead, rallying within two in the final minute, and nothing seeming to go right offensively for the Redskins, Creek needed someone to come through with a clutch shot.

That someone ended up being a freshman – Gracie Klinesmith.

The ninth grader swished a clutch 3 with 48 seconds to go, her fourth triple of the game, pushing the Creek lead back to five points and allowing the Redskins to hang on for a 43-36 victory to win the Division IV, East 2 District championship and earn a trip to regionals.

The victory is Creek’s eighth in its last 10 games. The district championship is Creek’s second in five years.

“They’re a good team, we knew they were going to make a run and fight back,” Indian Creek head coach Steve Eft said. “It felt like we were hanging on for dear life there at the end but the girls stepped up and made just enough plays there at the end to get the win. I’m so proud of them.

“It was a total team effort, I’m so happy for the girls, especially the seniors. They were in this game as freshmen and fell short, so for them to get back here and take another step is huge for them.

“I think we were like 5-6 at the halfway point and had a choice to make, and this group chose to come together and get better and it started with the seniors … they set the tone and we’re playing really good basketball right now at the perfect time. I’m so happy for third group and what they’ve accomplished together, but we’re not done yet.”

Klinesmith led the team with 14 points.

“Gracie Klinesmith had a monster game for us,” Eft said. “She’s been coming along scoring for us. We really didn’t have anything going offensively in the second half, especially in mthe fourth quarter. Her shot there was gigantic, she stepped into it confidently, (McKenna Scott) had a good reed and kicked it out to her and she sunk it. It was a big-time play, especially for a freshman.”

After the clutch shot, junior Riley Sadler made a big play defensively, stealing the ball away cleanly with 17 seconds left, which was key because she had played the entire fourth quarter with four fouls. The steal giving Creek (16-9) possession forced the Knights (13-12) to foul the rest of the way.

Sadler finished with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Kaydence Walker made it three Creek players in double figures with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

“That was a big steal, she was battling hard all game,” Eft said. “Her and (Cam Ketron) were battling on the inside, (West Holmes) has two good posts and they were getting inside in the second half so those two did a great job of battling them.”

While senior standout and OVAC championship MVP MCKenna Scott was held to five points drawing much of attention from the West Holmes defense, she found other ways to make an impact with six rebounds, a game-high eight assists and game-high four steals.

“She didn’t have a great day shooting, if you told me this morning she would only have five points I probably would not have liked our chances, but she impacts the game in so many different ways,” Eft said. “She was rebounding, getting assists, she’s the all-time leader at the school in assists in addition to being a 1,000 point scorer. She’s an unbelievable player, one of the best players I’ve ever coached.”

While they were hanging on at the end, Creek got off to a flying start out of the gates, scoring the game’s first nine points. After leading 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, Creek netted the first nine points of the second quarter and led by as many as 16 before the break, holding a 25-12 advantage through two quarters.

After Klinesmith and Sadler hit back-to-back triples to make the lead 17 early in the third quarter, West Holmes started its rally.

The Knights closed the third on a 10-1 run to pull within eight at the end of three, that run ultimately carrying into the fourth quarter and swelling to 12-1.

The margin was down to seven halfway through the fourth and four with 2:30 to go.

Inside the two minute mark, Creek lost senior Cam Ketron to her fifth foul, and less than 30 second later it was a two-point game, but Klinesmith’s clutch shot stopped the bleeding and Creek hung on.

The Knights comeback effort was led by Avenona Yoder with a game-high 16 points, 12 in the second half, and seven rebounds.

Creek advances to the Division IV Sweet 16 where it will face Fairfield Union Tuesday night in Zanesville in the Region 15 semifinals. Fairfield Union, which is now 25-0, rallied to beat Circleville Saturday night to win the Southeast District championship.

The tip is set for 8 p.m.