Indian Creek beats hardship en route to IAAM C title game
If Indian Creek coach Casey Corkin told his team he believed they could be champions this year, he knew they’d call him crazy. Sure, they’d feint enthusiasm at the thought, but that’s all Corkin believed it to be: a front.
This is not a team of year-round basketball players. There’s one freshman who competes on the AAU circuit. Until December, Corkin didn’t even know senior Haley Selmer was interested in college ball. His roster consists of athletes bound for lacrosse, soccer and other sports.
“But I saw the potential,” Corkin said. “Beth Tfiloh, Park returned a lot of core players, finished a little bit ahead of us. But I knew if this team started to believe in themselves, and really work at it, they could do it.”
Things changed when the Eagles beat Park School the first time. They beat a school that was projected to rule the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland C Conference this year.
That conviction in themselves has driven Indian Creek (15-8) through plague and injury to the final dance. Monday at 2 p.m. at the APGFCU Arena at Harford Community College, the No. 1 seed Eagles will vie for the program’s first title in six years.
“We’ve really been through it as a team, and for such a small team, every little thing sets you back a ton,” said Molly Bunker, who will play in the final with a broken finger. “So, it’s crazy we made it here. I’m so proud.”
The road to Harford had about as many obstacles as a little team could face. There was hardly a point this season that the 11-member Indian Creek squad was 100% healthy, free from either COVID or physical ailment. Corkin estimates only a quarter of their 23 games were played with all five regular starters.
But other members stepped up — sophomores and freshmen, such as first-year Norah Young, proved how useful they could be. They adapted more quickly to a varsity environment than they would have watching the juniors and seniors from the bench.
“They blossomed as the season went on because they had that experience,” Corkin said. “They were more confident by the end of the year to be more aggressive.”
The Eagles graduated many strong players over the past two years. They’re a little school that could need time to replenish their resources. But these Eagles weren’t going to allow a gap in quality. The remaining players were, instead, going to elevate their game.
As the mounting struggles threatened to drag their motivation down, the Eagles looked for support in each other. They grew closer as friends and teammates — and it translated directly to the floor.
The Eagles of November and December were choppy in their movements, senior Avery Barnhill said. They stood around watching the ball more.
“But as the season’s progressed, we’re finding the open man, moving the ball more,” she said. “And overall, we’ve come together. We’ve gotten to know each other, we love being around each other. I mean, you’re coming out to practice at 9 a.m. in the morning, and it’s because we’ve bought in so much throughout the season.”
Size certainly helps Indian Creek. With Molly Bunker and Selmer under the net, teams struggle against their height to put shots away. When they’re not there, there’s a difference; the Eagles dropped their second game to Park because Bunker was out sick.
They call their team’s paint presence, “The Eagles’ Nest.” Both Selmer and Bunker average double-doubles; Selmer nets 15.4 points per game and 16.5 rebounds while Bunker records 11.5 and 12.4, respectively.
Then, there’s other factors, such as sophomore Abbey Bunker, whom Corkin calls “the X-Factor” for her tenacity for thievery; she posts 7.3 steals per game alongside her 10.6 points. In one game, the younger Bunker amassed 12 steals and 12 deflections — two dozen times she was personally responsible for turnovers.
But at the center of it all for Indian Creek isn’t offense. Everything flows from defense. The Eagles unleash Barnhill on their opponents’ top player.
“The key for us winning is when she does her job,” Selmer said, “and we pack it inside on our 2-3.”
Certainly, its best defensive effort was its most recent. In the IAAM C semifinal, the Eagles limited Annapolis Area Christian School to eight points — not in a quarter, in the entire game.
“We play every game like it’s close. We play every game like it’s the championship game,” Abbey Bunker said. “We’ve never had that mindset that we don’t need to worry about a game.”
But Park won’t resemble that result in the slightest. When Indian Creek hosted the Bruins, it beat them by two. When the Eagles traveled north, they fell by three.
They’ll have to exude aggression the entire way through, both offensively and defensively, look back on the things they did well in their past two meetings and ditch the flaws.
But even in that second meeting’s defeat, Corkin saw the hope: the thing that may separate Indian Creek from an unfortunate memory and ultimate glory.
“We were down big in the fourth quarter, like 10-plus points. But that’s the thing about this team,” Corkin said. “They keep fighting and keep fighting. That can come in handy.”