24 years in the making: Eminence tops Greenwood Christian, claims 1st sectional since 1999

EMINENCE, Ind. — With all but 10 seconds remaining on the clock, Eminence coach Greg Burton called a timeout. With a 48-39 difference, he decided it was time to put in the reserves. Everybody had to be a part of this.

Junior Bella Dittemore, fresh off playing all 36 minutes, found her seat on the bench and nudged a teammate with excitment, tears welling up. Of course, these weren't tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Tears of relief. The Eels had finally done it. For the first time since 1999, they were going to win a sectional championship.

When the buzzer finally sounded, locking in Eminence's win over Greenwood Christian, it all became real. After 24 years of 10 different coaches and 16 losing seasons, including 10 with three or less wins, this Eminence team has officially made history.

"It's unreal," Dittemore said. "I've always kind of dreamed of it. It's crazy that it's actually reality. It's unreal to think my name's going to be up there on the banners. It feels amazing."

The game itself was sloppy, far from the prettiest brand of basketball Eminence has played this season, Burton would be the first to pinpoint that. But it was enough, and that's what counts.

"I'm proud of them," Burton said. "It was an awful basketball game, but we won. That's why you play. We play for this moment right here. Everything that led to this point was just to get better, for this. Wins are great, but everything was more so geared towards winning this basketball game."

Start of something special

So how did Eminence get here? Just three years ago, the team was 5-15. The year before that? 3-19. And before that? Also 3-19.

It all sort of started in 2020 with the addition of two freshman who'd wind up leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Those two were Dittemore and Danica Myers. Myers paced the team with 16.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.9 steals in her first season. Dittemore averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals.

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That season, the Eels went from a five-win team to 9-11, displaying a promising future with the oldest players on the roster being sophomores.

Then last season, the Eels had a welcoming addition. Owen Valley transfer Natalie Hubbard. The sophomore instantly made an impact, becoming the team's second leading scorer, and top rebounder, at 11.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Plus, the Eels were able to debut then freshman, 6-foot, 1-inch Sophia Saucerman.

Yet another step in the right direction saw the team finishing with a winning record, 12-8, the first time the Eels had done so since 2011. Finally, the last piece of the puzzle, Burton, was hired over the summer after cultivating Eastern Greene into a winning program.

Earlier in the season, Burton guided the Eels past a Class 4A opponent (Crispus Attucks) for the first time in 22 years. In just a few short months, he's changed, or enhanced, the entire direction of the program. Next Saturday, the Eels will be playing for a regional trophy. Two years ago, that didn't even seem like a possibility.

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"It's surreal, freshman year, it felt like this wouldn't even be possible, it's just something that wouldn't happen," Myers said. "It hits you all at one moment, like this actually just happened. I had so much confidence in our team. We're such a great group and our three seniors led us so well. We had the confidence for it, it's just now that it's all here, it's like wow."

Now, the team is closer than it's ever been.

"This team, our chemistry and our bond with each other, it's unreal," Dittemore said. "Our teamwork is great. We know each other like the back of our hands and it's crazy how we lift each other up. It's amazing."

Settling into the offense

For the first 16 minutes of the game, it seemed both squads had minds that were running at 100 mph, and feet that followed.

Turnovers piled up as each team rumbled down the court on fastbreak opportunities. Sometimes those opportunities would produce more turnovers, sometimes they'd produce missed shots and sometimes good things would happen.

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The nerves were there, but there was little denying how bad each team wanted the trophy. The first quarter ended with a difference of two, 14-12, and the end of the second resulted in a tie, 26-26. Hubbard nailed two threes to end each quarter, ensuring the Eels were either ahead or a play away.

The second half is where things started to slow down for Eminence. It held Greenwood Christian to just four points in the third quarter, scoring 11 of its own. The Cougars managed to pull within one, 37-36, with 6:00 left to play, but Eminence answered with a 6-0 run which ultimately turned into an 11-3 run to close the game.

"It was sloppy, and hats off to GCA, they were very well prepared," Burton said. "They knew some of our weaknesses, but I was really happy with the way we adjusted. We were able to take care of the ball better and move the basketball, forcing them to guard us."

One for the road

The Eels were fortunate enough to host their sectional this year, making the wins all that much sweeter. But looking ahead to regionals, the team will travel to Southwestern (Shelbyville) to play a tough Bloomfield squad who knocked off North Central (Farmersburg, 19-6), a team the Eels lost to in the first game of the season, 53-46.

Fortunately, given the experience at Eastern Greene, Burton knows a thing or two about Cardinals, who the Thunderbirds share a conference with.

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"We have so many things we've got to improve upon (heading into next week)," Burton said. "Being in their conference for four years, I'm a little bit familiar with them, but I'm not really worried about it right now. We're going to have fun with this one tonight."

Who could blame them? After everything the program's been through, it deserves time to celebrate. The players who've poured everything into making this happen, deserve to celebrate. They've earned it. Come next Saturday, expect the Eels to be prepared.

"Coach is so good at getting us hyped up," Myers said. "They're (coaches) all radiating positivity throughout everything, and they just keep us up. It's awesome for them to be so positive all the time."

Looking ahead

Eminence will play Bloomfield at Southwestern High School on Feb. 11. Tip-off is slated for 4:00 p.m. With the new format, winner takes home the regional trophy and advances to semi-state.

Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.