The Northeastern Lady Knights won the Wayne County basketball tournament for the fifth consecutive year, dominating the Centerville Lady Bulldogs 69-23.
The deep and talented Lady Knights opened the game on an 18-3 run and never allowed Centerville to gain traction. Six different Lady Knights scored in the first half as Northeastern increased their lead to 35-8 by halftime. Northeastern then outscored Centerville 22-5 in the third quarter to trigger a running clock.
Ten players scored for Northeastern; three reached double figures. Addisen Mastriano led with a game-high 20 points. Ava Mikesell scored 13 points, and Ady Kircher scored 12 points.
Taelynn Swartz led the Lady Bulldogs with 11 points.
The Northeastern seniors started playing basketball in the fifth grade, and they have never lost a county tournament game at any level. Senior Addisen Mastriano, a Detroit Mercy commit, spoke for the team about the emphasis they place on winning championships. “Winning this keeps our program legacy alive. We recognize that young players in our program look up to us. To them we are role models,” Mastriano said. “We take that responsibility seriously. We want them to see that winning is achievable through hard work.”
Northeastern head coach Cody Dudley was pleased with the effort he got from his team. “I am happy for the kids,” Dudley said. “Winning this tournament is a big deal. We look forward to this every year. It never gets old.”
Centerville head coach Tyler Frame looked for positives. “Advancing to this game was an important achievement for our players and our program,” Frame said. “We wanted to see a positive attitude, playing one play at a time and a team that competed and I think we saw that. We only committed five turnovers in the second half. I am proud of them. I am proud of their win last night to get here. This loss will not destroy our confidence. We will keep working to improve.”
Northeastern (12-5) 18 17 22 12 69
Brooklynne Adams 0, Amiyah Davis 0, Mikesell 13, Mackenzie Johnson 3, Sady Gammon 0, Karri Gammon 3, Nevaeh Chapman 3, Juztice Slick 5, Ariel Shuler 5, Kircher 12, Gracie Green 2, Cami Angi 3, Mastriano 20 – Total 69.
Centerville (3-14) 3 5 10 5 23
Swartz 11, Makenna Hartman 1, Kendall Nelson 3, Taylor Lickfelt 0, Anna Davis 0, Graci Plyley 3, Lorna McKinney 0, Olivia Hunter 5 – Total 23
A version of this article appeared in the January 10 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.