Mike McGraw
HA Executive Director

There is a moral in the story of Turkey Run’s 37-29 sectional semi-final victory over Attica. The boxscore simply does not always tell the true story of a game. Sometimes, the things a team does to win a game just don’t show up on the stat sheet. If you don’t believe that, consider this. Turkey Run hit 4 of 16 free throws down the stretch and scored a total of eight fourth quarter points. That sounds like a team that was choking away a game they had pretty much controlled. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.

Here is the key statistic of the game, and it won’t be seen in the boxscore. Attica’s brilliant Miss Basketball candidate Brittany Rayburn managed only two shots in her team's  last eleven possessions. The Warriors did exactly what they had to do to win the game. They refused to let her be a factor down the stretch.

Despite scoring 20 of her team’s 29 points, Rayburn was never able to exert her will in this game. All of her shots were contested and most were from very long range. Turkey Run kept Rayburn and her mates off balance most of the night.

That started in the first half when the Warriors used an old fashioned slow down game to limit Rayburn’s shot opportunities. She managed ten in the half and with Warrior defenders draped all over her she converted only two of those. The result was a 14-12 lead for Turkey Run at intermission. Credit much of that to the masterful floor play of Warrior junior point guard Meghan Doss. Doss completely controlled the tempo of the game.

In the second half, Attica attempted to speed up the tempo. Surprisingly, Turkey Run was more than willing. The Warriors took advantage of the more aggressive Attica defense by exploiting the superior overall athleticism. By the end of the third quarter they had expanded their lead to 29-19. Perhaps the biggest sequence of the night came after Attica had closed to 16-15 on a Rayburn long distance trey. Turkey Run freshman Chelsea Newnum drilled back to back three pointers and the lead was never under five the remainder of the game.

Attica mustered a spirited defensive effort in the fourth quarter, successfully disrupted the Warriors ballhandling on several occasions. In the end it did no good because of the strategy of Turkey Run coach Sam Karr and the great defensive play of freshman Chelsea Francis. Karr substituted Francis in exclusively on the defensive end for nearly the entire quarter and she orchestrated the smothering of Rayburn. Hoosier Authority spoke with Francis, Doss, and Newnum after the game. Be sure to check on the Wabash River Conference pages over the weekend to see the video of that interview.

We would be remiss if we did not mention a truly classy moment in the game’s last minute. With the verdict no longer in doubt, Attica coach David Boxler removed Rayburn from the floor for the final time in her career. She received a standing ovation, and it was not merely from the Attica fans. The near capacity crowd from all schools involved voiced their thanks for four years of memories courtesy of the Purdue bound star.