Trailing by 10 on the road in a district championship, Brenden Stowers and his Simon Kenton girls basketball team needed a timeout.
Things changed for the visitors rather quickly from there and the Pioneers never relinquished control. Simon Kenton turned a 24-14 deficit into a 25-24 halftime lead then blitzed host Grant County in the second half on the way to a 70-53 win. Thursday’s 32nd District Tournament championship was Simon Kenton’s first since 2018.
“We just settled the girls down. They let the game come to them,” Simon Kenton head coach Brenden Stowers said. “They took it possession by possession. Early on, they were not doing that. Credit Grant County. They did that playing their game.”
Every player that got in contributed in some way as 10 different Pioneers scored. Haylie Webb controlled the paint scoring 13 points after returning from early foul trouble. The tournament’s MVP Brynli Pernell and Rylie Flynn scored 12 points each with Bella Ober and Kate Blevins scoring nine each.
“We knew that if we got a lot of rebounds that we were going to win this game,” Webb said. “I know I’m not as big as some people I guard, but if you put a body on them, you get things done.”
Simon Kenton scored from all over the court making seven 3-pointers. Flynn and Ober made two each.
Early on, it was Grant County’s Olivia Ginn penetrating helping the Braves build an 18-11 first quarter lead with a 7-0 run. Ginn finished with 20 points, but Simon Kenton limited Grant County’s two leading scorers in Jada Cummins and Caroline Barnes to six and four points, respectively. Ober, Meg Gadzala and Flynn shared the responsibility guarding Cummins.
“Basically, we had to take away (Cummins’) right hand and stay up on her on drives to take away her shots,” Ober said. “It allows our team to get steals and convert down on the other end. We all have to be in shape and make sure we’re ready to play.”
Cummins and Barnes were big in the second of the three matchups between the two this season, scoring 18 points each in Grant County’s 54-38 win over Simon Kenton on Jan. 8 in the district seed game.
Simon Kenton employed a number of different looks on defense throwing in some halfcourt traps to disrupt Grant County’s rhythm. Simon Kenton drew fouls off the defensive pressure that led to fastbreak opportunities and capitalized hitting an astounding 16-of-18 free throws.
Pernell and Webb scored four points in Simon Kenton’s run to end the first half. The Pioneers then came out hot both offensively and defensively. The one-point halftime lead ballooned to 17 points at 49-32 with 1:12 left in the third quarter after Anna Kelch made a three from the left wing.
Simon Kenton led 51-34 after three quarters. Grant County cut the lead to 13 in the fourth quarter, but came no closer after that.
Webb and Flynn joined Pernell on the all-tournament team. Ginn and Sarah Russell made it for Grant County with Elin Logue representing Walton-Verona.
Both teams advance to the 8th Region tournament that starts Monday at Anderson County. District champions in the three other districts will be determined on Friday.
PIONEERS 70, BRAVES 53
SIMON KENTON — 11-14-26-19 — 70
GRANT COUNTY — 18-6-10-19 — 53
Scoring
Simon Kenton (70) — Webb 13, Pernell 12, Flynn 12, Ober 9, Blevins 9, Kelch 6, Hernandez 3, Gadzala 2, Goetz 2, Krohman 2
Grant County (53) — Ginn 20, Sarah Russell 8, Cummins 6, Vanholten 5, Barnes 4, Menfee 4, Izzy Russell 3, Miller 3
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Simon Kenton 7, Grant County 4
Free Throws: Simon Kenton 16/18, Grant County 5/9
Fouls: Simon Kenton 10, Grant County 16
Records: Simon Kenton 21-10, Grant County 19-8