Arcanum Lady Trojans earn senior night win over Northmont

They are building friendships and relationships that I see lasting beyond high school ... Coach Abbey Moore

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Arcanum Lady Wave senior night (L-R) Eeva Piret, Alexis Gibbons, Coach Abbey Moore, and Brooke Anderson. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

ARCANUM – The Lady Trojans earned a 46-44 senior night physical win over the visiting Northmont Lady Bolts in Monday night non-conference basketball action.

Coach Moore’s locker room message to her team before the game … “You get to this point in the year you have to just win a ballgame, you have to find a way to do it, and it really doesn’t matter how you do it as long as you do it.”

Arcanum senior Alexis Gibbons scores for the Lady Trojans in senior night win over Northmont. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

Arcanum had to overcome a five-point deficit with under two minutes to play in the fourth with back-to-back Caroline Long and Alexis Gibbons layups pulling the Lady Trojans within one point to trail 44-43 with 0:48 on the game clock.

The Lady Trojans managed a defensive stop with Coach Moore calling a timeout, setting up a play for Alexis Gibbons to drain a big-time 3-pointer, giving Arcanum a 46-44 lead that would hold up for the night’s final score.

“I called that play for Lex, and I knew we were down by one at that point,” Moore said. “I’m like, that’s her shot, so I wanted her to go ahead and take it, and it worked out. That’s not her first moment like that this year, and that’s awesome that she was able to have that tonight on senior night.”

Matty Noe drives to Arcanum basket in team’s non-conference win over Northmont. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

Northmont raced out to an 8-1 lead at 4:53 in the opening quarter and coasted to a 10-9 advantage after one period of play.

The teams played to a 16-16 second-quarter standoff, with five Lady Trojans getting in the scoring column, sending the teams to the break with the Northmont holding a slim 26-25 advantage.

Faith Wooten goes strong to the basket for Arcanum in win over Lady Thunderbolts. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

The pesky Lady Bolts took the third period by a 10-8 count, giving the visitors a 36-33 lead with one quarter to play.

Arcanum battled back, outscoring Northmont 13-8 in the fourth behind eight Caroline Long points, including 2-2 at the charity stripe, and Gibbons’ five points, including her heroic 3-pointer, giving the Lady Trojans a come-from-behind senior night victory.

Arcanum’s Caroline Long puts up a jumper in home game with Lady Bolts. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

Caroline Long led Arcanum and all scorers with a game-high 16 points.

Arcanum honored three seniors: Alexis Gibbons, Brooke Anderson, who tore her ACL in the season’s opening game, and Belgium foreign exchange student manager Eeva Piret, who could not compete this year, having played four years of basketball overseas.

“She (Piret) has been helping us daily in practice,” said Moore. “She has been a great girl to get to know and have around.”

Arcanum senior Brooke Anderson brings ball upcourt for Lady Trojans in senior night win over Northmont. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

“Brooke and Lex, I could go on all day,” Coach Moore continued. “Those two girls are what I want to build my program around. They’ve stepped up and are great role models.”

“The one big thing I see out of this group is they all get along, and they are building friendships and relationships that I see lasting beyond high school,” Moore concluded. “Moments like that are important. Lex hitting that shot, she will always remember that, and we want to make more of those memories. I remember those moments with my friends, so I want them to experience that too.”

BOXSCORE:

 ARCANUM 46, NORTHMONT 44

ARCANUM – C. Long 16, A. Gibbons 15, C. Hein 4, M. Noe 4, F. Wooten 4, B. Anderson 3 – TOTALS 13 8-11 4 46

NORTHMONT – L. Barrett 14, J. Hall 13, B. Williams 9, A. Abels 4, J. Smith 2, C. Ibe 2 – TOTALS 12 5-14 5 44

3-POINTERS

Arcanum 4 (A. Gibbons 3, B. Anderson 1)
Northmont 5 (L. Barrett 4, J. Hall 1)

SCORE by QUARTERS

09-16-08-13 46 Arcanum
10-16-10-08 44 Northmont