Photo by TRAVIS DAVID | Shakamak junior Madelyn Kennett follows through on a three-pointer in the first half of Wednesday's sectional game. Kennett netted a game-high 21 points in the Lakers' win over Clay City.

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BY TRAVIS DAVID

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CLAY CITY — One night after Dugger Union won its first sectional game in 11 years, North Central and Shakamak followed suit Wednesday night.

The No. 3 ranked Ladybirds cruised to a 56-29 win over Bloomfield, while Shakamak earned a 54-31 win over Clay City in first-round games of the Class 1A girls basketball sectional at Clay City.

Despite playing in the second game of the evening, Shakamak still needed a wake-up call against the hosts. Clay City jumped out to an 11-2 lead midway through the opening frame before the Lakers got on track.

Madelyn Kennett led the resurgence.

The dynamic junior knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds of the first, pulling the Lakers to within 11-8 heading into the second period.

Over the next eight-minute session, Shakamak opened on a 12-1 run to take control. The Lakers led 22-15 at the break.

“We started off a little rocky,” Kennett said. “We just needed to see a few shots go in and when that happened we just knew what we needed to do.”

After assisting on Kennett’s pair of 3-balls in the first quarter, Aubree Langford knocked down a triple of her own with just under seven minutes left in the half. The shot, assisted by Kennett, gave the Lakers a 12-11 lead — one it would not relinquish.

After the Shakamak offense found its rhythm the defense took over.

The Lakers forced 19 turnovers in the game which turned into easy offense.

“Our diamond trap was working really well,” Kennett said of the Lakers’ defense.

Kennett and Elayni Stone both came away with four steals apiece in part of Shakamak’s 13 steals for the game.

Shakamak all but put the game away in the third period. The Lakers outscored the hosts 21-4 in the period. Stone made her biggest impact of the game — offensively — scoring 10 of her 13 points in the period. The senior guard opened the second-half scoring with a triple — assisted by Langford — and finished the third period with an old-fashioned 3-point play. Stone also added a team-best nine rebounds to go along with four dimes.

Clay City never threatened over the final eight minutes of play.

Kennett scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down four rebounds.

Langford finished with seven points and dished out four helpers while Chase Hammond hit a pair of 3-pointers and five rebounds. 

Mattilyn Hill (4) and Clara Barber (3) rounded out the scoring for the Lakers.

Taylor Rheinhart paced the Eels with 15 points and eight rebounds. 

With the win, Shakamak secured its third straight winning season, improving to 13-11 on the season. 

Up next will be the Ladybirds. In Wednesday’s opening game, North Central had little trouble disposing of the Lady Cards.

The Ladybirds scored nine of the first 11 points of the game and never looked back. After leading 18-8 after the first period, the North Central defense shut out the Cards 13-0 in the second for a commanding 31-8 cushion at the break.

Senior Jalyn Davidson led the first-half charge with 15 points including going a perfect 9 for 9 from the charity stripe. 

In the second half, Shelby Seay took over. The shifty senior guard netted 18 of her game-high 26 points after the break. Seay also added six rebounds to go along with four steals and a trio of assists.

Davidson came away with six of the Ladybirds’ 15 assists and handed out six of the team’s 13 helpers.

With the win, North Central improved to 21-3 adding to its single-season school-record win total.

In Tuesday’s win, Dugger Union senior Jordyn Smith tallied a game-high 25 points to lead the way.

The senior guard added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Bulldogs led 13-9 after the first eight minutes of play and held a 22-17 lead at the break before taking control of the game with a 15-7 advantage in the third period.

Smith was not the only Bulldog player to reach double figures. Junior Sage Stahl finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in addition to coming up with four steals.

The game was the 12th double-double of the season for Stahl, who recently broke the school record for most rebounds in a single season. The junior now has 312 boards on the season for a 14.2 average per game. 

Dugger Union (7-15) will face No. 13 ranked White River Valley (17-5) in Friday’s first semi-final game. The Wolverines, who defeated Lighthouse Christian in Tuesday’s sectional opener, defeated the Bulldogs 79-38 in the regular season.

Shakamak and North Central square off in the second semifinal. The two teams split their regular season meetings. 

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