METAIRIE – Call Chapelle’s Olivia Grayson the Metairie version of Miss Cleo.

By Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com

Chapelle head coach Christy Thieler watches the Chipmunks practice.

A year ago, she told head coach Christy Thieler the Chipmunks would be playing tonight in the Class 5A final.

And then Grayson went out and, along with her teammates, worked Chapelle through the brackets into the finals against Southwood. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. in Hammond.

“She is by far our best player and by far our hardest worker day in, day out,” Thieler said. “Hopefully, we will be relentless with our effort Friday night.”

Chapelle has nothing to lose. No one expected it to be in this position, while everyone expected Southwood to be in the finals. The Cowboys have won nine state championships in the past 13 years.

Chapelle had never been to the Top 28 until this season, and made it to the finals with a tough 56-39 win over Hahnville in the semis.

“Southwood knows what it’s like to be there,” senior Sarah Carr said. “That’s a big advantage for them. But this whole tournament, we’ve been the underdog. Nobody wants us to win. It’s obvious.”

Yes, that’s a chip on their shoulder, and it might be the size of the entire New Orleans metro area. For years, the Chipmunks district has been owned by Mount Carmel and Dominican.

A year ago, in fact, Southwood put Mount Carmel out of the playoffs in the semis.

“We feel like we’ve been the underdog the entire season,” said Thieler, whose Chipmunks have reached the quarters the past two seasons. “The players have wanted to prove it wasn’t a fluke last year.”

Regardless of the outcome, however, Chapelle version 2008 has done something never been accomplished before for the school.

Though not necessarily right now, Thieler said at some point, she’ll sit down with the team and make them understand their accomplishment.

“I don’t think they realize how much it has united the entire school,” Thieler said. “Once it’s done and the focus is taken away from the game preparation, we’ll talk about that. We’ll put it in perspective and analyze.”

Said Carr, “I think everybody is shocked we made it there. The school’s never been there. Everybody is stoked.”

But the game is the big thing right now, and Thieler knows what her team is up against.

“You face Southwood, you want to face them in the championship game,” she said.

Chapelle will have to limit turnovers against a team that can press in the full-court and half-court, and can man-up with anyone.

“That will be key for us – can we continue to handle the pressure,” Thieler said. “It will be similar to the pressure we faced against Hahnville. Very similar to the pressure we faced against Ouachita. It may be both of those combined.”

There’s one thing, though, that Carr said will play into her team’s favor.

“Southwood is going to take us for granted,” she said. “Everybody else has to this point. That’s definitely an advantage for us. If we keep doing what we’re doing, Southwood is going be in for a nice game.”

Curtis vs. Donaldsonville, 2A Final

Nearly a month ago, Melissa Nafzger knew her team was capable of advancing to the Class 2A final. But her question was whether the team would listen to her and play together.

Well, as February is about to turn into March, her Curtis Patriots are one win away from a 2A championship.

“I can’t say I’m really surprised,” she said. “I’m very pleased and excited we’ve made it this far. I really feel like the girls put in the hard work. They had the natural ability and talent. It came down to if they had enough heart and were willing to put in the work.”

In the 8 p.m. final, it will help that Curtis is familiar with Donaldsonville, a team that until this year, was a district foe. That won’t exactly make it easier, though. The Tigers are 32-3.

The key, Nafzger said, will be to stay out of foul trouble.

“We have to play disciplined defense so we don’t get into foul trouble,” she said. “I don’t have a deep bench. The kryptonite for us is if we get into foul trouble.”

Her team also will have to shoot better than it did in its 47-37 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the semifinals.

“We’ve had trouble the last two games and kind of made the games a little more interesting than I’d like,” Nafzger said.

The Curtis coach is in her first year ever as a head coach. Regardless of what happens, this year has been special. But a win…a win would be something else. Yet, she won’t take much credit for getting the team to this place.

“I walked into a gold mine of talent and a great bunch of girls,” Nafzger said. “They make it easy.”

She added, “It would be something very special. I feel very blessed. But I feel like they deserve it all.”