Girls Basketball: Parkview Christian wins ACSI tournament, looks ahead to national tournament in Ohio

Four years ago, when this group of Parkview Christian senior basketball players were eighth-graders on an 18-1 team, head coach Kayla Linden and the girls’ parents and grandparents predicted they’d go to state as high school seniors.

It’s come full circle.

Now the senior-laden group is putting the finishes touches on a truly special two seasons.

Parkview Christian last weekend won the championship of the Association of Christian Schools International Tournament at Arthur Christian to improve the Falcons’ record to 26-2. Highlighting the weekend, Parkview Christian junior guard Gracie Lambes joined teammate Liz Griswold in scoring her 1,000th career point.

Next up? Parkview Christian will be boarding the bus in two weeks for Mount Vernon, Ohio, site of the National Christian Schools Athletic Association Tournament.

“It is cool that this is all coming to fruition,” Linden said, “and we are playing good right now.”

Parkview Christian was third at the ACSI tournament last year, a season in which it finished with a 23-1 record.

This time, the Falcons won the championship in resounding fashion.

Parkview Christian beat Victory Christian 48-12, Calumet Christian 56-20 and Arthur Christian 56-19.

“We’ve played Arthur before, and they lost a few girls, but literally my team is peaking at the right time and clicking on all cylinders. It was beautiful to see,” Linden said. “Against Arthur I thought they would give us more of a fight. Victory, we were just the better team. Calumet stuck with us the first half the first time we played them. All five girls on the court were contributing and our defense was phenomenal. The girls have really bought into the culture of help-side defense and getting in the gap. It was working for us.”

Lambes needed 62 points for 1,000 career going into the tournament. In the last game, needing 23 points, she hit five 3-pointers in the game, and with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter she was five away while the game was in a running clock.

“We called timeout and everybody was rallying around her. It became let’s get the ball in her hands,” Linden said.

The milestone came with three minutes left, as Lambes came off a double screen to hit a sweet-looking jumper for 1,000.

“They did an official timeout, announced her 1,000th point, presented a game ball from Parkview, it was cool,” Linden said. “Her and Liz have both done it in three seasons.”

Parkview has never been to the national tournament held in Ohio, although Linden went with the volleyball team when they went. Teams will be divided into three different brackets based off of records. Linden said she is guessing Parkview will get at least three games.

“I don’t know what to expect. This is all new to us,” Linden said. “I feel pretty confident that there will be some great teams. But we need good competition. This group is exceptional in the way that they get along, and how unified they are. It really is an exceptional group.”