Rockford Takes Home First Ever State Championship
By Josh Longstreth
The Rockford Rams aren’t new to the Breslin experience. Rockford had a chance season but fell to West Bloomfield in the semifinals. Today, they would have a chance at redemption taking on the Lakers again. This time for the entire thing in the State Championship.
With the Breslin filled with orange yet again, the Rockford community was out in full force in support of the Rams on Saturday afternoon. Their team would make it all worth their while. This one would be a tight, physical battle throughout. The story of the day, defense. Defense travels and it did for both teams in what became slugfest. Even easy looks would be hard to come by.
West Bloomfield held a slim 23-22 lead heading into the final quarter. Trailing 36-35 late, that’s when the Rams began to show who they were. Grace Lyons came up with a big steal with just over a minute remaining in the game. Then the school record holder in three-point makes came up with her best one yet. Lyons didn’t have many open looks on the day, but she wasn’t passing this one up. The junior made it pay off as her monumental three would give Rockford a 38-36 lead with just 40 seconds to play.
Her first basket of the day might live for generations in the Rockford community. West Bloomfield would have a chance to tie the game with a trip to the free-throw line, but would miss the pair with just 2.8 seconds remaining. The Lakers would tighten up their press but it wasn’t enough. They would be forced to foul Lyons and the heady junior hit both free-throws to put the game away.
Lyons came up big late, but it was sophomore Anna Wypych who led the Rams on offense on a day when things wouldn’t come easy. The younger Wypych would lead Rockford with 20 points and 8 rebounds on the day. Michigan Tech commit Alyssa Wypych added 9 points and 5 rebounds. Lyons finished with 5 points and 2 steals.
Kendall Hendrix led the Lakers with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Sydney Hendrix finished with 10 points. Indya Davis added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
With nearly both teams rosters intact heading into next year, another meeting between the two teams next year could very well be in the cards. Rockford head coach Brad Wilson was asked about that possibility, “That’s the plan”. First, the Rams will enjoy every minute of their programs first State Championship.
