By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Simon Kenton’s victory in the first round of the “Sweet 16” girls state basketball tournament didn’t follow the same script as its five previous playoff wins.
The Pioneers didn’t get as many points off turnovers as they usually do, so they had to rely on their half-court offense to outscore an experienced Ashland Blazer team, 70-61, on Thursday at Rupp Arena.
The closest margin in Simon Kenton’s two 32nd District and three 8th Region playoff games was 22 points. But the Pioneers had to battle from start to finish to snap their team’s winless record in its last three state tournament appearances.
“We’ve come down here too many times to take an L and go back and try to figure it out,” said Simon Kenton coach Jeff Stowers. “(Our girls) weren’t going to let us lose tonight. It was just a collective effort … and, boy, Cheesy, you put it on tonight.”
Cheesy is the nickname the coach gave Angela Kabeya, an eighth-grader who scored a season-high 29 points in the victory that puts the Pioneers (32-2) in the state quarterfinals. They will face Owensboro Catholic (27-9) at 6 p.m. Friday.
Kabeya, who joined the starting lineup late in the season as a replacement for injured senior Megan Gadzala, entered Thursday’s game averaging 8.8 points per game. But she scored 13 points in the first half that ended with her team holding a slim 27-24 lead.
In the third quarter, Kabeya hit 3-pointers at the beginning and end of a 19-9 run that put the the Pioneers ahead, 46-33. After Blazer ran off seven straight points, Kabaya made a shot in the final seconds of the period to give her team a 48-40 lead.
“We lost in the first round last year and I feel like this year, since we really want to win it all, we have to put our mindset to it and play good,” Kabeya said.
Blazer rallied in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter and tied the score, 51-51, on junior Brookelyn Duckwyler’s fourth 3-pointer. That’s when coach Stowers called a timeout to get his players back on track.
“When they came to the sideline, I said, ‘We’re right back where we started the game,'” Stowers recalled. “‘Now, it’s just a matter of us scoring one more point than them … We’ve got to close down the gaps (on defense), we’ve got to get rebounds and we’ve got to execute on the offensive end. And once we get them in foul trouble, we’ve got to go make free throws.'”
The Pioneers’ checked all those boxes during a game-ending 19-10 run.
Senior forward Haylie Webb got eight points, sophomore guard Bella Ober scored twice on drives to the basket and Kabeya knocked down her fourth trey.
Junior point guard Brynli Pernell then made four free throws in the final seconds to end the Pioneers’ first-round frustration in the state tournament.
“We’ve played a lot of games like this this year,” Stowers said. “We don’t get the fast start, but in the second half or toward the end of the game we have what it takes to close the game out. We learned that through the year.”
Ober finished with 14 points, six assists, six rebounds and three steals in one of her best games of the season. Webb and Pernell both had 12 points. But Kabeya was the player who surprised Blazer coach Stacy Davis.
“She was the one we had as the X factor,” Davis said. “You take a roll at it and focus on who you’re going to focus on and then somebody else beats you. And she did.”
SIMON KENTON 13 14 21 22 — 70
ASHLAND BLAZER 10 14 16 21 — 61
SIMON KENTON (32-2): Pernell 3 6 12, Ober 6 2 14, Kelch 1 0 3, Kabeya 11 3 29, Webb 5 2 12. Totals: 26 13 70.
ASHLAND BLAZER (26-6): Troxler 0 3 3, Duckwyler 8 0 20, Karle 8 4 22, Delaney 1 0 2, Gulley 1 1 3, Smith 4 3 11. Totals: 22 11 61.
Three-pointers: SK — Kabeya 4, Kelch. AB — Duckwyler 4, Karle 2.
Assist leaders: SK — Ober 6, Pernell 5, Kelch 2, Webb 2. AB (12) — Karle 5, Troxler 4, Smith 2.
Rebound leaders: SK — Webb 8, Kelch 6, Ober 6, Pernell 5, Kabeya 5. AB — Karle 7, Gulley 7, Troxler 5.