The Northeastern Lady Knight basketball team played host to the Wings and Rings Holiday Tournament on Friday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 28. The field included teams from all four enrollment classes. The 2A second-ranked Lady Knights stayed focused and took care of business on day one, advancing to the championship game while taking time to celebrate two significant milestones along the way.
Before the start of play, senior guard Ava Mikesell signed her National Letter of Intent to play collegiately for Olivet Nazarene University. During their second game against Kokomo, play was stopped briefly to recognize junior guard Ady Kircher scoring her 1,000th career point.
Results from opening round games:
1A Lafayette Central Catholic 59, No. 8 Tri-High 38
2A 3A Indianapolis Cathedral 60, No. 12 Brownstown Central 39
2A No. 2 Northeastern 62, 3A Shelbyville 35
The Lady Knights fell behind 4-0 to start the game before going on a 15-1 run to take control. Nine Lady Knights scored in the rout. Ady Kircher led the Lady Knights with 16 points, Mackenzie Johnson scored 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, Ava Mikesell scored 9 points, and Karri Gammon scored 8 points and added 10 rebounds.
4A Kokomo 63, 4A Fort Wayne Wayne 52
Results from second round games:
Brownstown Central 59, Tri High 53
Fort Wayne Wayne 52, Shelbyville 49
Indianapolis Cathedral 56, Lafayette Central Catholic 44
Northeastern 61, Kokomo 45
The Lady Knights jumped out to an early lead and never allowed the Lady Wildkats to make a serious run. Kircher scored 24 points for the Knights, and Mikesell scored 22 points.
Results from championship round games:
Seventh place game — Tri High 39, Shelbyville 33
Fifth place game — Brownstown Central 47, Fort Wayne Wayne 33
Third place game — Lafayette Central Catholic 69, Kokomo 55
Championship game — Indianapolis Cathedral 65, Northeastern 34
When the Indianapolis Cathedral Lady Irish took the floor in the championship game, they quickly established themselves as the superior team on Saturday night. The Irish pulled the plug on Northeastern’s dream of an unbeaten season and a tournament championship. The luck of the Irish was not the problem for the Lady Knights — it was the skill of the Irish, who built a 40-19 halftime lead and forced the Lady Knights into uncharacteristic mistakes. The Lady Knights fought to get back in the second half, but the Irish grew their lead to the final margin. Individual scoring was unavailable.
A version of this article appeared in the January 1 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.