‘Grateful for the journey.’ Eau Claire’s run ends in title game to Andrew Jackson
Eau Claire’s surprising run to the state championship game brought excitement and energy back to the program.
Unfortunately, Andrew Jackson made sure there was no fairy-tale ending for the Shamrocks. The Volunteers rolled to their second straight Class 2A championship with an 89-36 win over Eau Claire on Saturday at the Florence Center.
Eau Claire coach Ashley Gilmore, who won a pair of state championships as a player at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler, reflected on the team’s journey to get to the title game as she held the runner-up trophy in her hands while doing interviews near the Shamrocks’ locker room.
“I am going to remember how they persevered and how they overcame all the doubters,” Gilmore said. “We had a lot of odds against us and people didn’t expect us to be here. … I am grateful for the journey.”
It was Eau Claire’s first state championship appearance since 1998. The Shamrocks, whose last state championship came in 1993, hadn’t made it to the semifinals since 2010.
The Shamrocks finished second in 3-2A but went on the road and defeated Region 1-2A champion Blacksburg in the second round and knocked off Clinton in the Upper State final on Tuesday.
Clinton defeated Eau Claire twice during the regular season.
“Before the season, I knew we had an opportunity,” Gilmore said. “We have been working hard to get to this point. I wasn’t surprised we were here.
“To be real, I had people asking me to take jobs in other places, I always told them God had me at Eau Claire and I was going to stay at Eau Claire because I knew something special was going to happen at Eau Claire. And something special did happen at Eau Claire.”
Senior Tamia Watkins scored 31 points and 15 rebounds and junior guard Ni’Yonna Asbelle scored a career-high 30 points for the Volunteers, who capped a dominant postseason with the program’s fourth state championship.
“To cap it off with another championship means everything to our team, community and family. The girls have worked so, so hard and I am super proud of them,” AJ coach Steven Fair said.
AJ set a state record for most points scored in a girls championship game and for most field goals made with 37.
The Volunteers set a school record with 29 victories. And in AJ’s five playoff wins, it averaged 92.6 points a game and the average margin of victory was 60.5 points.
Eau Claire was able to hang with the top-ranked Volunteers early. The Shamrocks were able to spread things out on offense and connected on a pair of 3-pointers, the second by MiLayshia Chisholm to pull within 10-8 in the first quarter.
But the Volunteers’ size and defensive pressure took their toll on the Shamrocks. Eau Claire went over five minutes without a point from the end of the first until late in the second quarter. By then, Andrew Jackson built the lead to 33-14 with 2:40 left in the second.
The Shamrocks had 32 turnovers, which led to 36 points for the Volunteers
Chisholm led EC with 16 points.
EC: MiLayshia Chisholm 16, Bethel 5, Tiller 4, Motley 2, Demas 7, Cyrus 2. AJ: Delly 2, Shropshire 6, Tamia Watkins 31, Ni’Yonna Asbelle 30, Emiley McCall 10, Knox 6, Marcum 3, Fair 1.
