History is made as Indians find themselves among the Elite (8)

By Erich Murphy

Bingo Magic Sports

Pontiac won its girls’ basketball sectional semifinal game on Tuesday, and that was sweet. On Thursday, the Indians went one step farther in topping Manteno, which makes them elite.

There is joy in the Chief City as Pontiac’s girls’ basketball team celebrates moments after winning the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional tournament Thursday. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

By virtue of the 46-44 victory in the final of the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional, the Tribe advances to the supersectional round and a spot in the Elite Eight.

“It’s an amazing feeling, I feel so happy and excited for us,” PTHS senior Trinity Miller said. “We still have another game, we’re going to do the best we can.”

It was a flurry of activity that gave the Indians an opportunity in the final 75 seconds. Manteno was ahead 44-40 when Miller converted a steal into a basket to cut the deficit in half.

And then, after another defensive stop, the Tribe made a push to at least forge a tie. The Indians missed the initial shot of the possession, but Jo Duck secured the rebound, found Bailee Branscum open on the left wing beyond the arc and the sophomore sharpshooter buried the 3-pointer to put Pontiac ahead 45-44 with 36 seconds left.

“I was just open and had to shoot it,” Branscum said.

Bailee Branscum gets set to launch a 3-pointer against Manteno. Branscum buried a 3-point with 36 seconds remaining to help give the Indians their first sectional title since 1979.  (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

“It’s the biggest 3 we had,” Miller added.

Pontiac still had a gauntlet to fight through before securing the victory. First, it was playing defense. The Indians forced a turnover with 25.4 seconds to go.

And then, the Tribe needed to not only get the ball inbounded, it was going to have to do so after a series of Manteno fouls. The Indians were not yet in the bonus.

Finally, after four fouls on the Panthers, Miller toed the charity stripe with 8.7 seconds remaining. She hit the first for the final difference. The second was off the mark but Manteno was unable to get a good shot before the horn sounded.

“I was never more happy, we just had to stop them from shooting that next shot,” senior Grace Lanning said.

“It’s been so long since this moment, it just feels great,” Branscum said.

This game was close throughout. Pontiac led by five at one point in the first quarter, and the period ended with the home team up 13-8. Manteno rallied to go into the halftime break tied at 17-17.

PTHS held a nine-point advantage midway through the third period. But Manteno rallied to lead 33-32 by the start of the final frame.

Branscum hit a 3-pointer earlier in the fourth period that tied the game at 37-37.

Alyssa Singleton drilled a 3-pointer with 3:38 to go in the game to give the Panthers a 42-37 advantage. It was their largest lead of the night.

“We could have quit, but we didn’t,” PTHS head coach Brad Harmon said. “We knew what we wanted to do.”

Trinity Miller changes direction as she slows up an attack for Pontiac. Miller scored the game’s final point with a free throw with 8.7 seconds remaining to give the Indians a 46-44 sectional final win over Manteno. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

The Indians certainly didn’t panic, they relied on defense and composure.

“I thought we could beat them, we just had to be us and come in with a positive mindset and leave it all out on the court,” Lanning said.

People will likely remember Branscum’s shot for a long time, but an underlying factor in this victory was the play of Lanning on defense.

Manteno’s bigs — 5-foot-11 junior Maggie Gesky and 5-9 Emily Horvath — were dominating factors all season. Lanning’s job was to try to neutralize them as best as possible.

Grace Lanning makes a move to avoid Manteno players after grabbing a defensive rebound for Pontiac. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

Growing up in a wrestling family, including having one brother who won a state championship, Lanning was well conditioned to handle the physical play inside.

“I came into the game knowing that 23 and 45 were their best players,” Lanning said. “I just had to do my job to try to stop them down low.”

The two Manteno bigs finished with a combined 18 points. Much of Gesky’s points came on offensive rebounds.

“Because she was guarding (Gesky), we were able to go man-to-man,” Harmon said of Lanning. “They got a lot of rebounds, but when it came to it, and we went man-to-man, she stepped up. It allowed us to use our guards on their guards.”

For the first time since 1979, that’s 47 years ago, Pontiac’s girls won a basketball sectional championship. To put that into perspective, it is likely that many, if not all, of the parents of this year’s players weren’t even born yet. Put that in a timeline perspective.

So, how did this come about? How did the Indians achieve this status of being one of the final eight teams still playing in Class 2A?

“It’s all a mindset, we just have to keep pushing the best we can,” Miller said.

Jo Duck puts up a shot against Manteno in their sectional final matchup Thursday. Duck had 6 points in the Tribe’s 46-44 victory. (Erich Murphy/Bingo Magic Sports)

“It’s definitely an achieved goal,” Lanning added. “We’re hoping to make more history and leave our marks and let the younger kids see what they can do.”

Miller finished with 15 points and Branscum hit for 12 points in pacing the Pontiac (23-11) offense. Lanning and Duck each scored 6 points and Celi Serna had 5. Morgan Dewald finished with 2 points.

Pontiac will head up Route 66 to face Byron at the Wilmington Supersectional on Monday. Byron (31-2) defeated Port Byron (Riverdale) 60-36 to win the Mendota Sectional. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.

Follow Bingo Magic Sports on Facebook and X (@BMSportsPage, @MurphLeader)

(Go to Bingo Magic Sports on Facebook to see a photo gallery of the game.)