The Centerville Lady Bulldogs did not upset heavily favored Northeastern in their semifinal match of the 2A sectional played on Friday, Feb. 7, but they got their attention and earned their respect.
It was the third meeting between the two rivals this season. In December, the Lady Knights defeated the Lady Bulldogs 83-20 in a regular season game, and in January, Northeastern beat Centerville 61-33 to win the Wayne County tournament. The semifinal game felt like a formality in the Lady Knights’ march to the championship game, but didn’t start that way.
It was Centerville who was the aggressor. At the end of the first quarter, Centerville led 8-2. At halftime, the Lady Bulldogs were still leading 15-13.
“Centerville played better than our players expected, and our shots were not falling, and we started to play timid,” Northeastern head coach Cody Dudley said. “We told them at halftime: now you know. You can’t just get off the bus and expect the other team to be intimidated. You get what you earn. In the second half, we played well and did what we had to do to win.”
In the second half, a more focused Northeastern team took control of the game. Ady Kircher stole the ball and scored to tie the game at 15-15. Tae Swartz hit two free throws to restore the lead to Centerville at 17-15. Cami Angi scored inside to tie the game at 17-17 and Kircher scored with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter, giving Northeastern their first lead of the game. They never trailed again, taking a 41-25 lead at the end of the third quarter before outscoring Centerville 20 to 5 in the fourth quarter en route to a 61-30 win.
Ady Kircher led the Lady Knights with 19 points, Karri Gammon scored 12 points and Ava Mikesell scored 10 points. Taelynn Swartz led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points.
Centerville head coach Tyler Frame said he could not be more proud of his team. “Nobody in our locker room, and deep down, nobody on our coaching staff or any players’ parents thought before the game started that we had any chance.” Frame said. “But the players competed, and I could not be more proud of the effort the girls gave tonight and all year. We won 11 games this year and really improved. It has been more than a decade since Centerville last won 11 games in a season. This will be an incentive for our returning players to work during the off season.”
It was the last game in a Centerville basketball uniform for seniors Olivia Hunter, Lorna McKinney and Taelynn Swartz.
Northeastern advanced to the championship game, where they will face the Union County Patriots, who defeated Winchester Community 51-46 in the second semifinal game Friday.
Northeastern (23-1) 2 11 28 20 61
Mikesell 10, Ady Kircher 19, Ariel Shuler 6, Angi 4, Mackenzie Johnson 2, Gammon 12, Brooklynne Adams 0, Amyiah Davis 4, Ti’aja Adams 0, Chloe Peters 1, Sammi Kircher 0, Macey Oler 3 — Total 61
Centerville (11-13) 8 7 10 5 30
Bowi Frame 0, Swartz 15, Kendall Nelson 8, Hannah Beaman 0, Lorna McKinney 2, Olivia Hunter 3, Addie Talbott 0, Ruby Snyder 0, Lindy Skinner 0, Alexis McGinty 0, Aubrey Seifer 2 — Total 30
A version of this article appeared in the February 12 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.