A rejuvenated Homestead boys basketball team bounced back in the second half to clinch the outright NHC title and remain undefeated with a 65-55 win against Columbia City on Tuesday.The Class 4A No.INDIANAPOLIS – Bishop Dwenger’s Anna Garner spent the last three innings on the bench, crying mostly.
The senior got knocked out of the game in the top of the fifth inning when she collided with Boonville’s Andi Miller at first base.
Garner landed hard on her hip, scraped her elbow and then slammed the back of her head into the dirt.
After the Saints beat Class 3A top-ranked Boonville 9-8 for a state championship, Garner was still crying.
A different kind of tears.
“I’ve wanted it for like three years now because we have all the talent and everything. We just needed to all come together, and this was definitely the year as far as team chemistry,” said Garner, who hit nearly .500 from the No. 2 spot this season.
“I don’t even know how to describe how I feel. It’s amazing. I can’t believe we’re here right now. It’s like an out-of-body experience.”
The team’s other senior, Maureen Denihan, spent seven innings being her usual loud-mouthed – in a good way – inspirational self. She shouted words of encouragement. She gathered the players in a huddle after the tough innings, when they were trailing 7-1. She even climbed the fence in the dugout at one point.
After the game, she lifted junior Andrea Filler above the group so Filler could whip her fists through the air.
And Denihan was rewarded for her cheerleader-type spirit with the Class 3A mental attitude award, an honor she called “really cool” and landed $1,000 for the school.
But the antics? Pure Denihan.
“Honestly, the thing is, it sounds bad, but I’ve never been a fan of cheerleading, the sport. I’m like, ‘Those girls are so annoying.’ But I guess when I go out there and yell and be obnoxious, I’m kind of doing the same thing,” she said with a smile. “It’s pretty hypocritical of me. I apologize for that. I just can’t contain myself. Someone in the stands, I think it was my mom, was like, ‘Maureen, get down!’ I was standing on the fence at one point because I get so excited. I just love seeing my teammates play well. I’d rather see them play well than me play well. It’s so great.”
That love is reciprocated.
“They’ve been an inspiration for me all four years,” junior catcher Elaine Rorick said. “Freshman year, I was so timid. Maureen brought me out. She’s just an inspiration. And, Anna, … she’s just always smiling. They’re all good for laughs.”
