FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – The Northeastern girls basketball team will get a chance to play for the sectional championship on Saturday after the Knights defeated Union County 46-32 on Friday night.
The Knights (4-18) and Winchester (19-5) meet for the Class 2A title at Northeastern at 8 p.m. The Golden Falcons topped defending sectional champ Lincoln 67-60 in the second game.
“It’s no secret we’ve had a tough season as far as wins and losses, but we were improving the entire time,” Northeastern coach Princess Darnell said. “It all leads up to this.”
Northeastern led 4-2 after the first period and then 14-11 at halftime. After leading, 25-24 after three, the Knights were able to pull away in the final frame.
“We really took advantage of everything we had as far as being able to host the tournament,” Darnell said. “We took pride in protecting our house. Getting the bye was really beneficial in being able to watch our opponent and have those extra practices to prepare.”
Olivia Harris led the Knights with 13 points and Madi Clay finished with 11. Kelli Drake added eight points and six rebounds.
“I’m so proud of my team with their mindset and the intensity that they brought,” Darnell said. “They were ready to play.”
Kyla Miller led Union County with 14 points, while Sierra Dowler finished with five.
Box Score
NORTHEASTERN (4-18) – Tatum Jordan 3 0-0 6, Madi Clay 3 4-5 11, Olivia Harris 4 3-5 13, Mikayla Hornung 1 0-0 2, Kasey Andrews 2 0-0 4, Kelli Drake 3 1-1 8. Team – 17 8-10 46.
UNION COUNTY (8-16) – Sierra Dowler 2 0-1 5, Taylor Pinkerton 0 0-3 0, Tara Williams 1 0-0 2, Fayth Hill 0 3-4 3, Rainey Shepler 2 0-0 4, Brooklyn Wilson 0 2-2 2, Kyla Miller 5 4-7 14, Zoe Murphy 1 0-0 2, Samantha Ramey 0 0-0 0. Team – 11 9-17 32.
Northeastern 4 14 25 46
Union County 2 11 24 32
3-pointers – Northeastern 4 (Harris 2, Clay, Drake), Union County 1 (Dowler). Rebounds – Northeastern 26 (Drake 6), Union County 33 (Hill 6). Turnovers – Northeastern 10, Union County 16. Fouls – Northeastern 13, Union County 17. Fouled out – Hornung.