By Eric Eaton
HCC Coordinator
Semifinal #1: Logansport 65, Lafayette Jeff 62
LOGANSPORT – Much of what the Logansport Berries like to do offensively revolves around their talented 6’1” sophomore center Jasmine Penny. However, the Berries defeated Lafayette Jeff 65-62 in the semifinals of the Logansport Sectional on February 8th at the Berry Bowl thanks in part to her teammates.
Penny, who averages 16.4 ppg, spent the majority of the game’s first half on the bench saddled with two personal fouls. As a result, she failed to score in the opening 16 minutes as Logansport trailed the Bronchos 27-22 at halftime.
The Berries halftime deficit though might’ve been even larger had it not been for the 14 first half points from senior Kayla Fowler. The 5’9” forward scored all but one of the team’s 11 first quarter points as Logansport fell behind 16-11 after eight minutes of play. Fowler would end up being the team’s leading scorer, totaling 20 points.
Penny would find her game a bit in the third, as she contributed 6 points in the quarter. However, it was the senior duo of Shannon Jennings and Kira Albright that would come up huge for the Berries during the third quarter. The two combined to score 15 of the team’s 23 points in the quarter as Logansport turned a five-point deficit into a two-point advantage (45-43) after 24 minutes of play. Jennings scored 9 of her 11 points in the quarter and Albright scored all six of hers on two monster three-pointers in what proved to be a pivotal third quarter.
Logansport extended its lead to as much as eight points during the final quarter. However, Lafayette Jeff’s two Richardson cousins, Brandi and Charae, were not about to go down without a fight. The two of them scored 16 of the team’s 19 fourth quarter points as the Bronchos closed to within three points with three seconds remaining.
Unfortunately for the Broncho faithful though, Brandi Richardson’s last second heave from just beyond half court would come up well short as Lafayette Jeff’s season came to end with a 65-62 loss to Logansport. Charae Richardson a junior, led all scorers with 22 points, the sophomore Brandi Richardson added 21.
Penny had her most productive quarter of the game during the fourth, as she scored 8 of her 14 points in the final quarter of play, to help propel Logansport (17-5) into the sectional title game for a second consecutive year. The Berries won last year’s sectional title over Kokomo.
Lafayette Jeff, which hasn’t won a sectional title in girls basketball since 1995, ends it season at 12-10.
Semifinal #2: Kokomo 50, McCutcheon 39
Defense was clearly the theme of this contest as Kokomo overcame a two-point halftime deficit to advance to the sectional title game on February 9th opposite Logansport.
Despite making just 3 of 20 shots for 15 percent in the opening half, the McCutcheon Mavericks somehow managed to take a 17-15 halftime lead.
A combination of good defense and splendid free throw shooting helped give the Mavericks to a halftime advantage.
McCutcheon’s defense limited Kokomo to just five made field goals in the opening half on 5 of 22 shooting for 22 percent. Meanwhile, the Mavericks enjoyed a seven-point edge from the foul line during the first half by making 10 of 12 free throws.
However, McCutcheon’s offense would nearly disappear entirely during the first ten minutes of the second half. Kokomo began the half with a 15-2 run to grab a 30-19 led with 6:18 to go in the game.
The Wildcats clamped down defensively on McCutcheon during the third period, holding the Mavericks to just points. Kokomo outscored McCutcheon 12-2 in the third quarter and held a 27-19 lead to start the fourth.
The fourth quarter produced an offensive explosion as both teams combined to score 43 points. A total of 46 points were scored during the first three quarters of the game.
Kokomo got 12 of its 23 fourth quarter points from the free throw line as they closed out McCutcheon 50-39, to advance to the sectional title game.
Kokomo, which improved to 16-5 with the win, was led in scoring by seniors Kayla Drake and Kelcey Ackison who each scored 11 points.
McCutcheon, which made just 9 of 45 field goal attempts against Kokomo for 20 percent, got 8 points a piece from seniors Maggie Tull and Paige Caldwell. The Mavericks season ends with a record of 8-15.
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