By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON – For the first time since the legendary Pioneer state champions in 1981, Northern Kentucky’s first, a Simon Kenton team has made it to the Saturday’s Sweet 16 semifinals at Rupp Arena.
Only this time, it’s the Lady Pioneers who have made it thanks to a fast start and hold-tight finish against Owensboro Catholic’s never-say-die Aces.
The final score was 63-50 but after roaring out to a 23-10 first-quarter advantage that increased to 42-23 at the half, it looked like it was going to be a name-your-score night for the girls from Independence.
And then? Listen to Simon Kenton coach Jeff Stowers, back from retirement this season, describe it. “We like to make things hard,” the former NKU star said as he succeeds his son, Brenden, who went to the NKU women as an assistant, opening a spot for Jeff to return.
“We got bogged down,” Stowers said of a third quarter against the Aces’ trapping zone press. “We had some uncharacteristic mistakes.”
And a game that had them leading, 47-23, right after halftime saw a 24-point lead whittled down to just nine, 50-41, before senior Anna Kelch, who wasn’t having a great deal of luck from outside, buried a three to get the Lady Pioneers their double-digit lead back.
“About time,” Stowers said with a big laugh, having fun with the moment. “We’ve been in a lot of games like that.”
“Just keep it (with us) up 10,” Stowers pleaded with his team. They’ll have to foul and the Pioneers had the answer in pint-size junior point guard Brynli Pernell, who hit eight of her 10 free throws, mostly down the stretch.
That was the plan, Stowers said. “We knew they were going to have to foul us.”
And they knew they had to have the ball in Pernell’s hands, dribbling through and around defenders on her way to a game-high 18 points. Of the way they finished? “We only want the best for our seniors,” Pernell said.
Which meant getting to Saturday where they’ll face powerhouse George Rogers Clark, last year’s championship game loser.
And it’s one more chance to get into their quick-scoring game that got Simon Kenton off to the big start Friday. And despite the Owensboro Catholic student section’s go-to cheer for their defense when Simon Kenton had the ball: “Speed it up, speed it up, speed it up,” they weren’t reading the room. “We always play much better when we play fast,”
But don’t talk to him about his team “sputtering,” Stowers said after one postgame question. “I don’t care about ‘sputtering,’ as long as we get one more point.”
And on this night, they got 13 more, down from that early high of 24, but plenty enough. And did so with sensational eighth-grader Angela Kabeya, who scored 29 in Thursday’s opening win, limited a bit but still managing to knock down 10, including two of Simon Kenton’s nine three-pointers.
Picking up the slack was senior Haylie Webb, who time and again was in the right place down low for her 15 points on seven-of-11 shooting. “It’s special for me,” she said, “it’s my last year.”
But don’t talk to her just about scoring. “Our defense won this game for us,” Haylie said.
SCORING SUMMARY
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 10 13 18 9—50
SIMON KENTON 23 19 11 10—63
Owensboro Catholic (27-9): Boarman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Hagan 3-8 0-0 2-4 8, Mannahan 4-14 2-3 0-0 10, Munsey 3-6 3-6 0-0 9, Riley 1-2 0-0 0-0 2, Martin 3-7 1-4 0-2 7, Newby 7-12 0-1 0-0 14; Totals: 21-49 6-14 2-6—50.
Simon Kenton (32-2): Pernell 4-10 2-4 8-10 18, Krohman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Ober 3-9 1-5 2-4 9, Kelch 2-8 2-7 2-2 8, Wiggins 1-1 1-1 0-0 3, Kabeya 4-10 2-5 0-1 10, Webb 7-11 1-2 0-0 15; Totals: 21-49 9-24 12-17–63