Freshman Emy Wardle hit the biggest shot in the biggest game in Peoria Notre Dame girls basketball history Saturday in Normal.
Wardle scored the tiebreaking basket in the final second to give the Irish a 48-46 victory over Nashville in the Illinois State High School Association Class 2A state championship game at CEFCU Arena.
Wardle scored a game-high 18 points while her senior sister Mya Wardle added 10 points as the top-ranked Irish finished the season at 34-4 in winning the program’s first state title.
Juniors Kaitlin Cassidy and Julia Mingus had nine and eight points respectively as PND got all its scoring from the starting lineup.
The Irish led the entire first quarter, but Nashville claimed a four-point advantage early in the second quarter before PND went into halftime ahead 26-24. The Notre Dame lead then peaked at 41-32 late in the third quarter.
Nashville chipped away in the final quarter and tied the game on a jumper by Summer Brinkmann with 2:22 to go. After a PND turnover, Emy Wardle rebounded a Brinkmann miss with just over a minute left.
Wardle had her first attempt at the tiebreaker blocked with six seconds to play, but the Irish retained possession. Following a timeout, she hit the winning shot to finish with all seven of PND’s fourth-quarter points.
In Class 1A, Illini Bluffs (32-5) took second place after a 48-36 loss to Okawville. Annabelle Fortin had 13 points and Lily Luczkowiak added 12 for the Tigers.
