Loogootee Jr-Sr High School

The Lady Lions opened play in the North Daviess Sectional 62 on Wednesday night, tipping off at 6:00 PM against the Vincennes Rivet Lady Patriots. Earlier in the season, Loogootee had defeated Rivet 48–35, and the Lady Lions entered postseason play with a 14–6 record, while the Lady Patriots came in at 10–12. Vincennes Rivet’s Stearns opened the scoring, but junior Alaina Diamond answered immediately, knocking down a tough 15-footer through contact to tie the game at 2–2. Ava Jeffers then found freshman Lydia Hawkins for a mid-range jumper to give Loogootee a 4–2 lead. Hawkins made her presence felt on both ends, jumping a passing lane for a steal and finishing through contact to extend the lead to 6–2. Rivet responded with a bucket, but Sophia Toy kicked out to Alexis Heckard for a three to make it 9–4. The Lady Patriots answered with five unanswered points to tie the game at 9–9, but Hawkins scored off an out-of-bounds play to give the Lady Lions an 11–9 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Diamond opened the second quarter with a deep pull-up three, and Heckard followed with a strong finish in the paint. Hawkins added a three of her own as the Lady Lions stretched the lead to 18–12. An Ava Jeffers free throw was followed by Hawkins going coast-to-coast for two, and despite a late bucket from Rivet, Loogootee carried a 22–15 lead into halftime. Rivet scored quickly to open the third quarter and cut the lead to five, but that would be as close as the game would get the rest of the way. Diamond and Hawkins connected on back-to-back threes, and a pair of free throws from Heckard and Diamond pushed the Lady Lions’ lead to 32–21 heading into the fourth quarter. Hawkins opened the final period with a putback, then Jeffers knocked down three free throws and found Heckard underneath for two more. Hawkins added a free throw late to seal the 40–27 victory. The win improved the Lady Lions to 15–6 on the season and advanced them to the Sectional 62 semifinals, where they will face host North Daviess on Friday night at 7:30 PM. Lydia Hawkins led the Lady Lions with her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals. Alaina Diamond recorded her 13th double-double, posting 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Alexis Heckard added 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Ava Jeffers chipped in 4 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.