By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Notre Dame center Sophia Gibson was not happy with the way she played in the first half of her team’s home game against Simon Kenton on Monday. At the break, the 6-foot-4 junior had six rebounds and zeros in every other stat column.
But Gibson’s performance during the second half, especially the last two minutes, was the reason the Pandas came away with a 49-44 victory. She ended up with 17 points, 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
Simon Kenton forward Anna Kelch, left, tries to steal the ball from Notre Dame center Sophie Gibson under the basket. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
“I was very frustrated with myself because I wasn’t showing up,” Gibson said of her flat first half. “Then I came out in the second half and I was like, ‘I want to win this game and I know we can do it as a team.’ And my teammates pulled me up, and we were good.”
It was the third win in six days for the Pandas, who lifted their record to 12-3. Their previous two wins were by double-digit margins, but they needed an 11-0 run in the final three minutes Monday to come out on top against the Pioneers (10-5).
During that decisive run, Simon Kenton committed six turnovers on its final eight possessions. Gibson had one block, one steal and scored her team’s last nine points with two of her baskets coming off offensive rebounds.
“We learn a lot from playing games like these,” Gibson said. “You learn more when you’re having to fight back than when you win by 20, so it’s building up our toughness.”
In the opening minutes of the game, Simon Kenton made four 3-point shots to take a 12-0 lead and pushed the margin to 18-5 by the end of the first quarter. The Pandas were able to trim the lead to 27-20 at halftime by going 5-of-10 from the field with three treys in the second quarter.
Simon Kenton guard Brynli Pernell drives to the basket against Maya Lawrie of Notre Dame. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
The Pioneers made four steals in the third quarter, but they didn’t score off any of them and their lead slipped to 34-30 going into the final period.
With 3:45 left in the game, two free throws by freshman guard Brynli Pernell put the visitors ahead, 44-38, but they didn’t put any points on the scoreboard after that.
“We played so hard that whole game to let it come down to a couple plays where we don’t do what we’re supposed to do,” said Simon Kenton coach Brenden Stowers.
“I think we had something like six straight turnovers at the end and a lot of them were unforced. They were just us dribbling the ball off our leg, turning into somebody, throwing it out of bounds or lazy passes. So there’s some things we need to fix. We’ve got some young girls who have to learn how to play in games like this.”
Pernell scored a game-high 18 points for the Pioneers, who shot 26 percent (5 of 19) from the field in the second half and 36.6 (15 of 41) for the game. The Pandas offset their shaky start by shooting 47.8 percent (11 of 23) in the second half and 40.5 (17 of 42) for the game.
Notre Dame coach Kes Murphy said consistency has been a recurring problem for his young team, but they’ve been winning despite their inexperience.
Notre Dame center Sophie Gibson tries to block a layup attempt by Anna Kelch of Simon Kenton. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
“The other piece is we’ve got a super high ceiling,” Murphy said. “We’re not a finished product, so I feel like once we get to that point when we get more consistent we’ll be in a much better situation.”
The Pandas’ other double-figure scorer was sophomore guard Addie Lawrie with 11 points. Sophomore forward Emma Holtzapfel made three of the team’s six 3-point goals for nine points.
Gibson was able to post her third double-double of the season behind her strong second-half performance.
“She finally woke up a little bit and decided to play,” Murphy said. “When she wants to play, she’s really good. She does put in a lot of time and effort and a lot of work, but she just has those moments, like most kids do, where they just lose their focus.”
NOTRE DAME 5 15 10 19 — 49
SIMON KENTON 18 9 7 10 — 44
NOTRE DAME (13-2): Stallard 1 0 3, Collins 1 0 3, Holtzapfel 3 0 9, A. Lawrie 4 2 11, M. Lawrie 1 2 4, Burden 1 0 2, Gibson 6 5 17. Totals: 17 9 49.
SIMON KENTON (10-5): Pernell 5 3 18, Gadzala 1 0 2, Ober 2 2 7, Kelch 4 0 10, Webb 3 0 7. Totals: 15 5 44.
Three-point goals: SK — Pernell 5, Kelch 2, Ober, Webb. ND — Hottzapfel 3, A. Lawrie, Collins, Stallard.
