The Northeastern Lady Knights and the Hagerstown Lady Tigers squared off on Saturday, Jan. 10, for the Wayne County Championship in a game played at Robert E. Clark Gymnasium on the campus of Hagerstown High School. The talented and confident Lady Knights took an 11-6 lead after one quarter and increased it in each subsequent quarter.
The Tigers had scoring opportunities early, but their shots did not fall. Karri Gammon and Mackenzie Johnson delivered timely inside baskets to help Northeastern build its early lead.
The freshman guard duo of Kenly Ferriell and Sophia Tinkle combined to score 10 second-quarter points for the Tigers, but the Knights countered with 17 second-quarter points to take a 30-17 lead at halftime.
scores over Hagerstown’s Avery Blunk in the Knights’ victory.
The Knights played every roster player in the second half and pulled away to a 59-36 win. The win gave Northeastern its seventh consecutive title, the longest streak in the history of the Wayne County tournament.
Ady Kircher led the Knights and all game scorers with 20 points. Mackenzie Johnson scored 11 points for the winners. Ferriell led the Tigers with 19 points.
Ady Kircher, who will play at Indiana University East next season, said that it is always a thrill and a program expectation to win the Wayne County tournament. “We came out a little slow in the beginning,” Kircher said. “But our coach told us to relax and play our game, and once we did that we were fine.”
Northeastern head coach Cody Dudley was happy to see his team win again. “We knew going in that Hagerstown had some good young players,” Dudley said. “But they can be streaky and our game plan was to utilize our experience to force them off the shooting line and force them to make decisions. We struggled at times tonight offensively, but we were consistent defensively and that wins championships. I am proud of our kids.”
Hagerstown head coach Brad Catey had no complaints. “If you look at where we are now versus where we were a year ago there is no comparison,” Catey said. “Northeastern is very good, but as coaches, we spent a lot of time this week convincing our kids that we can compete with them. If our shots had fallen early, it could have been a much different game. Our kids are improving every day and I am proud of them.”
Northeastern (10-7) 11 17 16 15 59
Hagerstown (8-8) 6 11 11 8 36
Northeastern (59)
Zella Cook 0, Brooklynne Adams 8, Macey Oler 3, Fiona Breitenbach 7, Ady Kircher 20, Sammi Kircher 0, Kendall Patterson 6, Erin Seal 0, Johnson 11, Gammon 4, Brielle Moody 0, Molly Wissel 0
Hagerstown (36)
Makena Lanum 0, Mackenzee Johnson 0, Bella Thalls 0, Aalyia Anderson 6, Ferriell 19, Tinkle 8, Lilly Catey 0, Skylar Brown 0, Lilah Doerstler 2, Avery Blunk 1, Layla Cool 0, Sara Sorrell 0
A version of this article appeared in the January 14 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.