Loogootee Jr-Sr High School

On Friday night, the Lady Lions took the floor in the Sectional Semifinal against host North Daviess in front of a packed house. With a trip to the Sectional Championship on the line, the winner would advance to face Orleans on Saturday night. The game opened with defense and nerves on full display, as scoring was hard to come by early. Loogootee struck first when Alaina Diamond finished through contact in the lane, but North Daviess answered with a tough finish of their own. The score remained tied at 2–2 until Ava Jeffers found Lydia Hawkins underneath with 30 seconds left in the first quarter, giving the Lady Lions a 4–2 lead at the end of one. That bucket sparked an 8–0 run for Loogootee to open the second quarter. Hawkins found Diamond for a score, then the freshman followed with a pair of buckets of her own. North Daviess responded quickly, however, and allowed only a single free throw from Karmen Wilson the rest of the half. The Lady Cougars clawed all the way back to tie the game at 11–11 heading into halftime. Alexis Heckard opened the second half at the free-throw line, but North Daviess answered with a pair of their own to take a 13–12 lead. Heckard responded with a strong drive to the basket, and Diamond added a free throw to give Loogootee a 15–13 advantage. After a series of exchanged free throws, the Lady Lions held a slim 16–15 lead before North Daviess knocked down a three to regain the lead. Hawkins answered with a floater to tie the game at 18, but North Daviess continued to apply pressure, eventually hitting another three to take their largest lead of the night at 23–19. Hawkins went to the line and made the first free throw before missing the second, but Wilson came up with a huge offensive rebound, kicking it back to Hawkins for an and-one to tie the game at 23–23. North Daviess scored once more late, but Hawkins went coast-to-coast in the final seconds, sending the Lady Lions into the fourth quarter trailing just 26–25. Heckard opened the final period with a clutch three-pointer off a feed from Hawkins, and a split trip to the line from Hawkins gave Loogootee a three-point edge. North Daviess answered with a big and-one to tie it at 29. A beautifully executed inbounds play led to another Heckard bucket, followed by a Diamond up-and-under to make it 33–29 with under three minutes remaining. The Lady Cougars refused to go away, knocking down their fifth three of the night. Hawkins and Heckard each split trips at the line to make it 35–32, while North Daviess responded with a pair of one-for-two trips of their own. After an empty trip to the line by Hawkins and a foul on the rebound, North Daviess had a chance to tie but missed both free throws. Loogootee nearly secured the rebound, but the ball slipped loose, giving the Lady Cougars another opportunity with 23 seconds remaining. North Daviess made the first free throw to pull within one at 35–34 but missed the second. Wilson grabbed the rebound and was fouled immediately, but the free throws would not fall. North Daviess got one final look, but the shot came up short, and the Lady Lions emerged with a hard-fought 35–34 victory, earning a spot in the Sectional Championship against Orleans on Saturday night at 7:30 PM. Lydia Hawkins led the Lady Lions with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, along with 9 rebounds. Alexis Heckard added 9 points, while Alaina Diamond finished with 8 points, 7 blocks, and 4 rebounds. Karmen Wilson scored 1 point but made her impact felt with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks. Sophia Toy chipped in 4 rebounds, and Ava Jeffers added 6 rebounds and 2 assists.