By RYAN WALKER
WABASH — Southern Wells took a lead early in the first quarter, then never looked back in the sectional semi-final over Lakeland Christian.
The Raiders’ 45-33 win advances them to the sectional final against the hosting Northfield Norseman (11-13) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Northfield. This is the team’s first sectional championship appearance since head coach Jessica Killingbeck’s first season in 2018 when the Raiders took home the title.
“It’s a fantastic feeling — They deserve it,” Killingbeck said after the game. “They put in really hard work this week. And we’re really focused and zoned in on the game plan, and I thought they did a fantastic job of executing tonight.”
Southern Wells (7-15) took the first and final lead of the game at the 5:21 mark when Ashlie Needler scored and Collena Reeves followed with her first triple of the night.
That made it 7-3, but a quick stretch with Erika Beavans’ two and Needler’s completed and-one spread out a six-point advantage.
Though Lakeland Christian (9-16) never was out of the game, it never came closer than six points the rest of the way.
Killingbeck’s crew did it in a different style to get this victory. For the Raiders, it’s usually getting it in the paint to Needler and Kenzie Paxson, but they instead combined that by spreading the floor to four guards.
Of the top scorers, Needler had 11 and Paxson was right behind her at eight, but Gracie Reeves (7), Collena Reeves, and Beavans scored six and Kyah Thomas five.
The Reeves sisters both tallied three-point buckets, while Thomas hit one of her own. Beavans was active on both sides of the ball as the team’s true point guard, who is also a freshman.
“I’m super happy with where Erika is at right now,” Killingbeck said. “She’s done a great job of developing her game. She started out on JV and she got a lot of JV minutes and developed into what is our starting point guard right now, and that’s huge for us.”
“Both (Reeves) are our best shooters on the team,” She continued. “They’ve got great shots, and they got it off tonight and looked really good.”
Killingbeck’s message in the coming days of the game was to not take the Cougars lightly, who, the Radiers stomped by 21 earlier this season in Game No. 4. But how the game turned out Friday night, the message afterward was execution.
The Cougars tallied eight more wins after the Southern Wells loss earlier in the season. One of the game preparations was to handle junior point guard Katie Reimink. She finished with 19 points, but most of it was in the fourth quarter when the game was decided. She was 2-14 in the first half, including 12 misses in a row.
Outside of Remink, not other Cougar outside of Addie Wirebaugh’s two triples did much damage.
“We just talked about how much better Lakeland is and that it’s sectional time,” Killingbeck said. “Records don’t matter. Rankings don’t matter this time of the year, and everybody’s a threat and you got to come ready to play your A-game no matter who you’re playing.”
Ryan@news-banner.com
SOUTHERN WELLS 45 , LAKELAND CHRISTIAN 33
At Northfield
SOUTHERN WELLS (7-15): Ashlie Needler 4-13 3-3 11, Kenzie Paxson 4-8 0-0 8, Gracie Reeves 2-6 1-2 7, Collena Reeves 2-5 0-0 6, Erika Beavans 2-6 2-2 6, Kyah Thomas 2-5 0-0 5, Karlee Warner 1-5 0-0 2, Kaylea Coffel 0-1 0-0 0, Aubrey Meyer 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16-49 6-7 45.
LAKELAND CHRISTIAN (9-14): Katie Weimink 6-19 5-5 19, Addie Wirebaugh 2-2 0-0 6, Dayton Sibert 1-9 2-4 4, Anna Robertson 1-5 0-0 3, Lani Calizo 0-2 0-1 0, Kelly-Rose Banadzen 0-0 0-0 0, Madison Wobrock 0-1 0-0 0.TOTALS: 11-38 7-10 33.
Southern Wells 12 12 15 6 — 45
Lakeland Christian 6 10 7 10 — 33
Three-point FG: Southern Wells 5-15 (G. Reeves 2-5, C. Reeves 2-5, Thomas 1-2, Warner 0-1, Beavans 0-1, Needler 0-1), Lakeland Christian 5-21 (Reimink 2-8, Wirebaugh 2-2, Robertson 1-4, Calizo 0-2, Sibert 0-4, Wobrock 0-1). Rebounds: Southern Wells 24 (Paxson 7, Needler 4, Thomas 3, Beavans 3, C. Reeves 3, G. Reeves 2, Warner 2), Lakeland Christian 23 (Calizo 6, Sibert 5, Reimink 4, Robertson 4, Wirebaugh 3, Wobrock 1). Turnovers: Southern Wells 12, Lakeland Christian 19. Fouls: Southern Wells 9, Lakeland Christian 10. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
