Northeastern and Union County, the two teams that finished first and second in the Tri-Eastern Conference standings, opened the Hagerstown sectional on Tuesday, Feb. 3, in what many fans saw as the de facto championship game of the tournament.
The Northeastern Lady Knights entered the game as the two-time defending sectional champions with a veteran roster and riding a nine-game winning streak. The Union County Lady Patriots countered with a very young squad. Three starters and four of the top six Union County scorers on the season are freshmen. The two teams met on Jan. 21 with Northeastern taking a 59-48 win. There was little similarity in the two games.
Union County stunned the Knights, and the fans in attendance, by taking a 16-0 lead into the second quarter. The Beck sisters, Brooklyn and Aubrey, combined to score 13 of their 16 points.
The Knights came to life in the second period. Ady Kircher’s third three-pointer late in quarter tied the game at 19-19, before Aubrey Beck hit a three-pointer to give the Patriots a 22-19 halftime lead.
Ady Kircher scored to open the third quarter to cut the Northeastern deficit to 22-21, and the Knights appeared to have the momentum but the momentum quickly went back to Union County.
The Patriots responded with an unlikely 18-2 run to push their lead to the largest of the game at 40-23 and were still leading 42-27 at the end of the third quarter.
The Knights battled to the end. Ady Kircher delivered a conventional three-point play late in the final period to pull the Knights within six points at 51-45, but the Patriots scored the final five points of the game from the free-throw line to take the win and advance to the semifinal round on Friday, Feb. 6, when they will play Hagerstown.
Ady Kircher led the Knights with 21 points. Mackenzie Johnson added 10 points.
Brooklyn Beck led the Patriots and all game scorers with 26 points. Aubrey Beck scored 13 points and Olivia Tinkle added 11 points.
Ady Kircher ended her career with 1,610 points. The Northeastern career scoring record for girls is 1,613 held by 1998 graduate Amy Wright. It was the last game in a Northeastern basketball uniform for Kircher and Brooklynne Adams.
Northeastern head coach Cody Dudley offered no excuses. “You are not going to win many games after falling behind 16-0,” Dudley said. “We battled back in the second quarter to cut our deficit to three points at halftime. It seemed like nothing went our way and our shots didn’t fall in the early going, yet we were right there at halftime. We could just never get over the hump in the second half. Union County played very well, credit to them. I am proud of my kids.”
Union County head coach Joey Sidell was elated. “I told the girls before the game that I thought the first quarter would dictate the tempo,” Sidell said. “We did not want to have to play them from behind, we wanted to play with the lead. The girls showed up, our shots were falling and we played with composure. We are happy to get this win behind us and happy to advance.”
Union County (12-10) 16 6 20 14 56
Northeastern (16-8) 0 19 8 18 45
Union County (56)
Brooklyn Beck 26, Haleigh Buttery 2, Aubrey Beck 13, Kaybree Suttle 4, Tinkle 11, Nora Robinson 0, Kinley Sidell 0, Ari Dunaway 0
Northeastern (45)
Brooklynne Adams 2, Fiona Breitenbach 6, Ady Kircher 21, Sammi Kircher 4, Kendall Patterson 2, Johnson 10, Macey Oler 0, Jayden Hildebrand 0
A version of this article appeared in the February 11 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.