Springs Valley Community High School

With nine seconds left in Friday’s IHSAA Sectional 63 semifinal matchup, Maddie Carnes took a seat on the bench. Brynne Buchanan, her teammate, would come over a moment later and they’d embrace, watch the final seconds tick off the clock together, and head to the locker room to celebrate. Together, they had just accomplished something quite significant. They had led the Springs Valley girls’ basketball team to a 53-45 victory over Class 1A No. 12 Vincennes Rivet — a team that had beaten the Blackhawks 51-34 less than a month ago — to continue a now seven-game winning streak and claim a spot in the Sectional 63 championship game. “We’re taking practice seriously and our scout is on-point. We scouted this team really well and I think we came in super prepared for this,” Buchanan said. “Hats off to our coaches tonight, because going into this we were confident and I think that was because of the staff.” That confidence the Blackhawks had entering the game was a bit hard to read. They were reserved during warm-ups and might’ve even looked sluggish. In the locker room they were dead silent. They were ready for the moment though and when it came they capitalized. Buchanan opened the game by dropping in a 3-pointer, then Carnes quickly followed with two more. They’d lead 17-16 after one quarter, then 32-22 at halftime. They perfectly executed the game plan laid out by Springs Valley coach Marty Niehaus, who coached the 700th game of her career on Friday, and her staff and that start particularly put them in a great position to win. “It was almost like they weren’t even breathing in the locker room before we went out. I was trying to cut the tension a little bit, loosen them up a bit, but I guess it was a good kind of nervous because we did get off to a really good start,” Niehaus said. “Hitting all of those threes was huge. Watching film it felt like the teams that were able to beat them had to hit some threes so getting off to that start and then continuing to hit them was a big thing for us. Carnes continued her phenomenal freshman season on Friday. Against Rivet she went for a game-high 19 points while also grabbing seven rebounds, blocking four shots, assisting on two baskets and tallying three steals. She also adjusted perfectly to the matchup against the Patriots, straying from her typical drive-heavy, basket-attacking style to do her damage from the perimeter. Rivet was determined to clog the lane and not get beat on the inside, so Carnes dropped in a career-high four 3-pointers on just six attempts. “She’s one of the most versatile players I think I’ve ever seen,” Buchanan said. “She can score from basically wherever. Her shots are going to fall wherever she’s at and she’s super impressive defensively and on the boards. I think she had great effort tonight, her shots were falling, and she was just great all around.” The Blackhawks also got a lift from their supporters, who showed up in droves to support them in one of their biggest games of the season. The atmosphere they created was big for Springs Valley and with any luck, it’ll be even better on Saturday. “It was really fun. We played tough and I think our crowd, everyone in the community coming to watch and support, really helped,” Carnes said. “I didn’t really look in the stands, but when I glanced behind me I saw a bunch of people in that pep section. We filled the whole place.” Springs Valley (16-7, 5-1 PLAC) has now won seven games in a row and 11 of its last 12 games, losing only once since Dec. 12. The Blackhawks will return to the court on Saturday with an immense opportunity in front of them. After avenging their regular-season loss to Rivet on Friday, they’ll have a chance to avenge their regular-season loss to Barr-Reeve on Saturday and if they can do that, they’ll be sectional champions for the first time since 2016 and just the fourth time ever. “I know the atmosphere is going to be great. The kids are obviously going to be fired up and no matter who we end up playing it should be a very competitive game,” Niehaus said. “We’re just looking forward to getting that opportunity.” SPRINGS VALLEY BLACKHAWKS 53 3P;AFG;FT;R;PF;Pts Buchanan, g;2-5;2-8;4-5;4;1;10 Eckerty, g;2-7;2-9;2-2;3;2;8 Carnes, f;4-6;6-14;3-3;7;1;19 Hall, f;0-0;1-3;1-2;3;1;3 Nottger, c;0-0;2-6;1-3;9;2;5 Allstott;2-2;2-2;0-0;0;0;6 McCormick;0-0;0-3;2-2;1;0;2 Shipman;0-0;0-0;0-0;1;2;0 Bonta;0-0;0-0;0-0;1;0;0 Tucker;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 Totals;10-20;15-46;13-17;29;9;53 Shooting;.500;.326;.765 VINCENNES RIVET PATRIOTS 45 3P;AFG;FT;R;PF;Pts Dame, g;0-2;1-8;6-7;3;4;8 K. Frey, g;4-8;5-14;2-2;4;4;16 E. Frey, g;3-4;4-5;2-2;4;3;13 Mills, f;0-0;0-2;0-0;2;3;0 M. Herman, c;0-1;3-6;2-2;4;1;8 E. Benson;0-1;0-1;0-0;1;1;0 McGuire;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;2;0 Earley;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 Hedge;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 Klem;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 C. Herman;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 A. Benson;0-0;0-0;0-0;0;0;0 Totals;7-16;13-36;12-13;18;18;45 Shooting;.438;.361;.923 Springs Valley (16-7);17;15;11;10—53 Vincennes Rivet (13-11);16;6;12;11—45 TO: Vincennes Rivet 12, Springs Valley 11.