Tatum Jordan
Kaylin Smith
LIBERTY, Ind. – A surge in the second half on Tuesday helped the Centerville girls basketball team move on in the Class 2A Sectional at Union County.
“I thought we were a little slow on rotations in the first half and just getting into the game, maybe nerves,” Centerville Head Coach Jason Searcy said. “I loved the way they responded in the second half.”
With the 38-22 win over Northeastern, the Bulldogs advance to Friday’s semifinal against Winchester (11-11).
“(Winchester’s) young kids are playing well,” Searcy said. “They give us a match-up problem.”
“They have some size and we’re going to have to work on some things to match their size a little bit,” Searcy added. “We’re going to have to rebound well.”
The two teams met once in the regular season with Winchester winning 58-53 over Centerville on Jan. 18.
On Tuesday, neither team could get going offensively as Centerville led 3-2 at the first stop. By the intermission, the Bulldogs were on top 13-9.
After the Knights scored the initial basket of the third period to cut their deficit to 13-11, Centerville scored the next nine points to go ahead 22-11 with 3:57 remaining in the quarter. In the remainder of the stanza, the Bulldogs pulled away to lead 31-17 as the period ended.
“I thought they did a great job, just being the aggressive team and playing with a lot of heart,” Searcy said of his squad. “I was proud of their second-half performance.”
“We were attacking the basket, being aggressive,” Searcy continued. “Having active hands and they did a good job defensively.”
Kaylin Smith led the Bulldogs (5-15) with 10 points and eight rebounds, while Merissa Ross added nine points. Lauren Honkomp finished with seven points and Savanna Kates added six points.
For the Knights (2-20), Leah Hoskins led the way with six points. Tatum Jordan had four points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds.
Box Score
NORTHEASTERN (2-20) – Lauren York 1 0-0 2, Tatum Jordan 2 0-2 4, Madi Clay 1 1-1 3, Leah Hoskins 3 0-0 6, Mikayla Hornung 2 0-2 4, Chaise Helton 1 1-2 3, Alicia Hoskins 0 0-0 0. Team – 10 2-7 22.
CENTERVILLE (5-15) – Lauren Honkomp 1 5-8 7, Merissa Ross 4 1-4 9, Savanna Kates 3 0-1 6, Kaylin Smith 4 0-2 10, Madilyn Coomes 0 0-0 0, Alex McFarland 0 2-3 2, Maggie Curts 1 0-0 2, Mackenzie Tipton 0 0-0 0, Cassidy Weiss 1 0-2 2. Team – 14 8-20 38.
Northeastern 2 9 17 22
Centerville 3 13 31 38
3-pointers – Northeastern 0, Centerville 2 (Smith 2). Rebounds – Northeastern 45 (Jordan 11), Centerville 33 (Smith 8, Kates 7). Turnovers – Northeastern 26, Centerville 14. Fouls – Northeastern 18, Centerville 13.
Class 2A Sectional 41 at Union County
Friday, Feb. 5
Lincoln (12-10) vs. Union County (15-8), 6 p.m.
Winchester (11-11) vs. Centerville (5-15), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 6
Championship, 7:30 p.m.