But Alter’s sturdy defense kept Brookville from extending its cushion until the Knights were finally able to capitalize offensively against the Devils’ zone defense.
The Knights’ defense was so strong that they limited the Blue Devils to a combined 10 points over the final three frames — and that allowed Alter to eventually rally for a 30-24 victory.
Now 19-6 overall, Alter, which has won five girls basketball state championships in school history, advanced to a regional final matchup against four-time defending state champion Purcell Marian at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Butler.
“The shots — they were just not falling," said Christina Hart, who is in her 32nd season as Alter’s head coach. “We needed to settle down a bit. And when the first few shots didn’t go, we started to get a little tight.”
The Devils, fresh off their first district crown in school history, came out hot as Jolie Gudorf and Megan Luebke nailed treys to help Brookville surge to a 14-4 advantage after one period.
On the other end of the floor, Alter couldn’t seem to solve Brookville’s zone defense, which also featured trapping elements in the half-court. Shot after shot clanged off the rim, leaving the Knights with just one alternative.
“We knew we were going to have to win with our defense,” said Alter sophomore Izzie Arcuri. “That was what was going to keep us in the game.”
Alter clamped down in order to keep its deficit within striking distance — and then gained some momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers to close the first half, which ended with the Knights trailing by one point at 16-15.
“We got those shots to come back to within one at halftime,” Hart said. “When the kids came into the locker room, they were all excited because of that. They knew we were heading in the right direction.”
Samantha Pothast then gave the Knights their first lead since 2-0 when she opened the second half with another trifecta, and Alter would never trail again.
Arcuri paced Alter with eight points, while Gudorf, who received a standing ovation for reaching the career 1,000-point club (as a 10th-grader no less), scored nine points for the Devils. Teammate Luebke was Brookville’s scoring leader with 10 points.
Alter is now just one triumph away from once again reaching the 20-win plateau in what was expected to be a rebuilding year after mass graduation from last season’s state runner-up finish.
But the Knights have exceeded everyone’s expectations and are once again enjoying a deep playoff run.
“This has been a great group to work with,” Hart said. “Any night, it could be anybody stepping up. This is a really nice team.”
Said Arcuri: “We always try to pick each other up. We learned a lot last year and we didn’t get frustrated when we weren’t making our shots early on.”
It was a tough loss for Brookville, but with just two seniors on their roster, the program has plenty to look forward to in the near future.
“We accomplished a lot this year — we’re proud of everything we did," Gudorf said. “Winning the first district championship for the school was amazing. Alter has a great team, and this experience was something we can learn from and build on.”
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