Simon Kenton girls basketball coach Brenden Stowers has talked to his players all season about playing with both energy and effort consistently.
Simon Kenton combined the two on Monday in the 32nd District semifinals with a 84-58 victory over Walton-Verona. It turned out to be Simon Kenton’s highest point total this season.
“I know that having energy on the bench is what helps us have more effort,” Simon Kenton sophomore Anna Kelch said. “As long as we’re giving effort, the energy will be there so it works both ways.”
Simon Kenton takes on host and top-seeded Grant County in the district championship game Thursday at 7 p.m. The two split during the regular season, but the Braves won the district seed game, 54-38 on Jan. 6 in Dry Ridge to ultimately capture the tournament’s top seed and a spot in the 8th Region Tournament.
Simon Kenton freshman point guard Brynli Pernell grabbed the opening tip, dribbled to the left wing and swished her first of five 3-pointers just six seconds into the game to set the tone. Pernell finished with a team-high 24 points.
“Everybody was ready for the game,” Stowers said. “We knew it was coming down for the postseason so everything we did, especially down the stretch, was geared for the postseason. Number one, it was for our seniors because we didn’t want it to be their last game and the girls made that very clear. Brynli just so happened to knock down that first shot, but I’m confident it could have been any one of them. They were playing for each other and that’s what really got us going.”
Simon Kenton’s defense took over from there. The Pioneers forced 26 Walton-Verona turnovers while giving it away just nine times.
The turnover discrepancy led to Simon Kenton taking 27 more shots. The Pioneers made their mark from distance, knocking down 14 three-pointers to just six for the Bearcats.
“They were flying around (on defense) and doing the things we were asking them to do, especially early on and it put us in position to be successful,” Stowers said. “The girls made the plays that they were supposed to make. That’s really name of the game.”
Ten different Pioneers scored and all but one made at least one 3-pointer. Rylie Flynn hit two triples on her way to 14 points and Natalie Hernandez came off the bench to make two 3-pointers. Anna Kelch and Haylie Webb followed Pernell and Flynn with nine and eight points, respectively.
“It makes us dangerous. I feel like Brynli is always hitting (threes),” Flynn said. “But when everyone else is making them, I feel it just makes our team so much better because we’re passing the ball around and we’re gaining that confidence to be able to move forward in the game.”
The early deficit for the Bercats turned out to be too much to overcome. Elin Logue made five 3-pointers on her way to 27 points and Cam Christy scored 12 points before fouling out.
The Bearcats tried to take advantage of their size in the post with Braylin Terrell and Ava Kendall, but turnovers plagued that plan.
“The game plan to beat Simon Kenton isn’t a complicated one, but you really have to execute,” Walton-Verona head coach Rianna Gayheart said. “They’re a really good team. Our focuses were not turning the ball over and not giving them second chance opportunities and unfortunately, we weren’t able to execute those two areas well enough.”
Terrell nearly had double-double, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds to go with four blocked shots.
Following Pernell’s three to open the game, Terrell made a jumper in the middle, but Walton-Verona came no closer after that. Simon Kenton continuously expanded the lead from there.
The Pioneers led 24-11 after one then expanded the lead to as much as 18 at 37-19 with 1:36 left in the half after Webb made 1-of-2 free throws.
Walton-Verona finished the half on a 8-2 run to go into the break down 39-27.
Simon Kenton came out of halftime determined to put the game away scoring the first nine points of the third. The lead hit 21 before Walton-Verona trimmed it to 50-34 with 4:13 left after two Terrell scores.
However, Pernell responded with two straight buckets to expand the lead back to 21 at 55-34. The Pioneers led 65-39 entering the fourth quarter allowing the reserves to taste postseason action in the fourth quarter.
With the victory, Simon Kenton (20-10) is back in the 8th Region Tournament for the third straight season. The Pioneers won the region tournament last year.
Walton-Verona (18-11) will miss the region tournament for the second straight year. Walton-Verona was able to win the 8th Region All “A” crown and made it to the All “A” Classic state quarterfinals. The Bearcats graduate two seniors in Avery Geiman and Kendall Donato.
“They’re just great kids first of all so they were good with our younger kids as far as being team leaders and doing the right things,” Gayheart said. “As far as two kids go, they’re some of the best seniors I’ve been around in my time here so I was really glad they had a good season. I wish it went a little longer for them, but it was really great to have them.”
Simon Kenton faces Grant County in the 32nd District championship on Thursday at 7 p.m. The two split their two regular season meetings, Simon Kenton winning the first battle, 53-42 on Dec. 9 in the Billy Hicks Classic championship, Grant County winning the district seed game, 54-38 on Jan. 6. Last season the two played in both the district championship and 8th Region championship. The Braves won the district title while the Pioneers got the last laugh in the region championship to advance to the Sweet 16.
PIONEERS 84, BEARCATS 58
WALTON-VERONA — 11-16-14-17 — 58
SIMON KENTON — 24-15-26-19 — 84
Scoring
Walton-Verona (58) — Logue 27, Christy 12, Terrell 10, Kendall 5, Vonhandorf 2, Dryden 2
Simon Kenton (84) — Pernell 24, Flynn 14, Kelch 9, Webb 8, Ober 7, Blevins 6, Hernandez 6, Gadzala 4, Kuper 3, Jones 3
Game Stats
Field Goals: Walton-Verona 21/41, Simon Kenton 27/68
3-Pointers: Walton-Verona 6, Simon Kenton 14
Free Throws: Walton-Verona 10/13, Simon Kenton 16/18
Fouls: Walton-Verona 14, Simon Kenton 19
Rebounds: Walton-Verona 28, Simon Kenton 24
Steals: Walton-Verona 5, Simon Kenton 6
Turnovers: Walton-Verona 26, Simon Kenton 9
Blocks: Walton-Verona 5, Simon Kenton 1
Records: Walton-Verona 18-11, Simon Kenton 20-10