Moments like this are why Simon Kenton coach Jeff Stowers returned to lead the Lady Pioneers after stepping back in 2022.
He already had five region titles already under his belt, but Stowers knew this group had something special.
That belief paid off as the Lady Pioneers claimed their second championship in three seasons, defeating Grant County 48-31 in Henry County.
Just two seasons ago, nearly the same group beat Grant County in the region final to earn a trip to the KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen — a run led by Jeff’s son, Brenden.
When Brenden accepted an assistant coaching role with the NKU women’s basketball team after last season, Jeff stepped back in to guide the Lady Pioneers once again.
“I didn’t want to disrupt the process of them having to go through another head coach,” Stowers said. “They had it. They saw it from the very beginning. We knew what they had, maybe not to this proportion, but things just kept coming together.”
When the Lady Pioneers won the title in 2023, their starting five were all freshmen or younger — a young group still learning what it took to win. Despite their early success, the excitement never faded.
“I feel like we were too young to understand the concept,” tournament MVP Brynli Pernell said. “We didn’t really understand the meaning of it. This season, we understood that we didn’t want our season to end. Our mentality is 1-0 — 1-0 tonight, and 1-0 in the first round at state.”
The Lady Pioneers embraced the motto “defense wins championships” — and they made it a reality.
They haven’t allowed a team to score more than 35 points the entire postseason and made sure that even when they weren’t scoring, the Lady Braves weren’t either.
In comes a motto Simon Kenton made their own: “If we don’t score, they ain’t gonna score.”
The Lady Pioneers led from the start, holding a 9-6 advantage after the first quarter and a 19-11 lead at halftime. But in the second half, that defensive mindset had to take over.
“If we don’t score, we’ll hold them until we can score,” Stowers said. “We’ve lost three games where it’s come down to the last couple possessions so we learned that throughout the year. Now it’s a whole mentality until we can make shots.”
Despite going scoreless until the 1:50 mark in the third quarter — when Haylie Webb hit a layup — the Lady Pioneers still held a 21-15 lead at that moment. They closed the frame up 24-17.
Though Meg Gadzala had to contain Anderson County’s Lainey Johnson the night before, she embraced the challenge of guarding Grant County’s Jada Cummins, an All-Region player averaging 18 points per game.
“My assignment is defense,” Gadzala said. “I enjoy to guard, it’s my favorite part of the game. I have a lot of faith in my defense. I’m a soccer player so I’m good at moving my feet and as long as I keep them in front of me, I’m good.”
Despite Cummins’ scoring ability, Gadzala and the Lady Pioneers’ defense limited her to eight points — a team-high shared with Caroline Barnes.
In the fourth quarter, Simon Kenton showed what they can do on the offensive end as well. The Lady Pioneers exploded for 24 points, capping the game with four players in double figures.
Pernell led with 13 points, while Bella Ober and Haylie Webb each added 11. Anna Kelch scored 10, rounding out the balanced attack. Ober, Webb, and Gadzala were also named to the All-Tournament team.
With a 26-4 record, Simon Kenton will head to the state tournament for the seventh time in school history. The Lady Pioneers will take on the winner of the 11th Region, Frederick Douglass, on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.
Winning the region was a big step — but this team believes they can go even further.
“I 100% think we can win,” Pernell said. “We have confidence in ourselves. I know what we’re capable of, and after the Sacred Heart game, it put us in the mindset that anything can happen.”
LADY PIONEERS 48, LADY BRAVES 31
SIMON KENTON — 9-10-5-24 — 48
GRANT COUNTY — 6-5-6-14 — 31
Scoring
Simon Kenton (48) — Pernell 13, Ober 11, Webb 11, Kelch 10, Blevins 3
Grant County (31) — Barnes 8, Cummins 8, Ginn 7, Menefee 4, Utter 4
Game Stats
3-Pointers: Simon Kenton 6, Grant County 1
Free Throws: Simon Kenton 8/15, Grant County 8/10
Fouls: Simon Kenton 12, Grant County 15
Records: Simon Kenton 26-4, Grant County 18-13