Monroe Central defeated Carroll 51-50 in the 1A Regional Championship at Marion High School on Saturday
With 4.7 seconds remaining, the Carroll Cougars had one final shot to steal the victory and the Regional Championship. The ball was knocked away, and the Cougars were unable to get up a final shot.
It was an exciting, back-and-forth game between the Cougars, winners of Sectional 54, and Monroe Central, winners of Sectional 56.
The game was played at Marion High School’s Bill Green Athletic Arena, one of the largest high school gyms in the country, holding over 7500 fans. 
Both teams came in looking for their first-ever Regional Championship.
The early minutes saw each team struggle on the offensive end, as a three-pointer by Monroe Central broke the tie over five minutes into the first quarter.
The first basket by Carroll came with two and a half minutes left in the first on an Eliza Rinehart jumper.
At the end of the first, Carroll held a slim advantage, 9-7.
The offenses opened up in the second. The Golden Bears found success from distance, connecting on six threes in the first half.
Avery Thomas, Finja Heckelmann and Charlie Morris all hit threes in the second quarter to give Monroe Central the advantage.
Carroll’s offense struggled to connect from the field, but they kept themselves in the game with a strong showing at the line, connecting on their first 13 free throw attempts.
At the break, Monroe Central controlled with a 25-20 lead.
The third quarter saw the Golden Bears grow their lead to as many as eight, but Carroll’s Mady Isley continued the hot free-throw shooting, keeping the Cougars in the game.
Heading into the fourth, Monroe Central led 36-30.
The teams traded blows in the fourth. A three by Bryleigh Springer gave Carroll a one-point advantage before the Golden Bears took it back on the next possession.
At 46-45 with three minutes remaining, the Cougars had multiple looks at a go-ahead bucket, but were unsuccessful.
Monroe Central’s Abree Ervin splashed home a three-pointer with two minutes to go to push the lead to four.
Rinehart returned the favor with a layup for Carroll, cutting the lead to 49-47.
The Cougar defense got the stops they needed down the stretch, but Carroll couldn’t capitalize offensively, missing several shots inside.
Ervin connected on a layup with 45 seconds left, pushing the lead to 51-47.
Carroll again couldn’t connect on a good look on their next possession. With 15 seconds left, the Cougars chose not to foul immediately. Springer tapped the ball away from Ervin and passed it to Oliva Schroder for a layup. Schroder was fouled in the process and converted a three-point play.
Trailing 51-50, the Cougars forced another turnover.
They could’t connect on the first attempt, but the ball was knocked out of bounds by Monroe Central, giving the Cougars one final look with 4.7 seconds left.
Carroll couldn’t get a shot off as the Bears took it away, winning 51-50.
Abree Ervin led the way with 15 points for Monroe Central. Mady Isley had 15 for Carroll, hitting 10/10 free throws.
For Carroll’s two seniors, Jillian Salts and Olivia Schroder, their Cougar basketball career comes to an end.
The impact and legacy of those seniors will be remembered for a long time in Carroll County.
The quest for the first-ever Regional Championship continues for the Cougars. Their season comes to an end with an 18-7 record.
The broadcast of the Regional Championship was brought to you by:
Collisions Unlimited
Fire Pizza
Hufty Alignment
Singletree Washout