HIGH SCHOOL

HS girls basketball: Roncalli escapes Greenfield-Central for regional title

Brent Glasgow
IndyStar correspondent

Class 4A No. 5 Roncalli won its third girls basketball regional crown in six years Saturday night in a 46-45 thriller over No. 10 Greenfield-Central at Decatur Central.

Kentucky commit Lindsey Corsaro, who had 30 points in Roncalli’s 55-45 win over No. 3 Lawrence North in Saturday’s regional semifinal, added 23 in the nightcap, including the game-winning foul shots with 16 seconds left.

“We were up and down tonight, and we knew we had to knock down free throws, and it was up to me to knock those down,” Corsaro said. “We’ll be right back to business tomorrow. Nothing’s won yet.”

Roncalli (24-4) will face top-ranked Columbus North next Saturday for a spot in the state championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“This one could’ve gone either way,” Roncalli coach Stan Benge said. “You have to give both teams credit. It’s hard playing two games in one day. We had one more point, so we get to play next week.”

Greenfield-Central (23-5), which topped No. 9 Plainfield 64-50 to reach Saturday’s final, trailed by seven with two minutes left but took the lead with 22 seconds remaining. After Corsaro put Roncalli ahead, the Cougars had two shots within five feet, but neither fell.

“You play high school basketball for environments like this,” Greenfield-Central coach Doug Laker said. “It was a war. They gave all they had. I let them down.”

While Corsaro is an IndyStar Miss Basketball candidate this year, Greenfield-Central’s Madison Wise showed she’s a name to watch next season. After scoring 23 points in Saturday’s semifinal victory, Wise had 17 points in the first half and 21 total in the loss to Roncalli.

“The rest of our team stepped up, too,” Laker said. “Getting that close, it hurts.”

Corsaro and Wise combined for 20 first-quarter points, but Savannah Girolami had five straight ending the period to put Greenfield-Central up 18-15.

Roncalli gave up just five points in the second quarter, and Corsaro added eight of her own as the Rebels took a four-point lead to the break.

Greenfield-Central trailed by seven in the third quarter, but with Wise sidelined with a leg injury, the Cougars trimmed it to one going to the fourth.

While Wise returned for the final period, Roncalli’s Daesjah Ely was carried off with a knee injury 2 minutes in, right after putting the Rebels up by a point.

Greenfield-Central didn’t score over the next 6 minutes and fell behind 44-37 but clawed back to take the lead. The Cougars’ furious rally fell just inches short – twice – in the closing seconds.

Paige Saylor added 13 points for Roncalli, while Greenfield-Central’s Katie Helgason (11) also scored in double figures.

Benge, who won three state titles at Ben Davis, is one win away from playing for another.

“We have to get people back healthy, and we have to play better than we did tonight,” Benge said. “We’ve played the best teams in the state, so they’ll be ready.”

RONCALLI 46, GREENFIELD-CENTRAL 45

Roncalli                15  12   9  10  –  46

Greenfield-Cent.  18    5  12  10  – 45

Greenfield-Central (23-5) – Gibson 0, Helgason 11, Wise 21, Real 0, Girolami 9, Farrell 4, Flora 0. Totals: 17 7-11 45.

Roncalli (24-4) – Fey 4, Titzer 1, Saylor 13, Corsaro 23, Reece 0, Ely 4, Bischoff 1. Totals: 18 8-11 46.

3-point goals: Roncalli 1 (Corsaro), Greenfield-Central 4 (Wise 2, Helgason, Girolami)