NEWBURGH, Ind. — The most rewarding moments are those which require effort.
This particular one fits the description. Because for a significant portion of 36 years, this felt out of reach. An aspiration in name only for the Reitz High School girls basketball program. It was a difficult truth to stomach for a school with past success few others in Evansville had ever reached.
It’s why there was an outburst of cathartic emotion on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Panthers finally did it.
Reitz defeated Castle 46-45 to win the Class 4A sectional championship. It is the first postseason title for the Panthers since 1990. Their first victory against said opponent in nearly as long. No amount of words may ever be enough for anyone that walked through that locker room, past or present, to describe this moment.
“I’m really lost for words,” Reitz coach Brock Stone said. “There’s a lot of people that had a lot of doubt, not just this team, that this program could ever reach this height again. And you know, I don’t think this is a one-year stint.”
Even in year three, Stone felt the gravity of this result. Reitz was once a consistent contender in the state tournament ― it won the first ever sectional in 1976 after girls basketball became an official sport. The Panthers emerged five years later as the single-class state champion under the late coach Louise Owen. Then another sectional title in 1990.
The trophy case doesn’t extend further. Starting in 2003, Reitz went 18 seasons without a winning record ― a stretch that included a winless campaign just a decade ago. The Panthers won two total postseason games in that timeframe.
That seems ancient history now. The program has been on an uphill climb in recent years, ticking off the assorted boxes that represent program growth. A winning record in 2024. A loss in the overtime of the sectional final last year. This remained the final hurdle to clear.
“These are the moments that we prepared for,” senior Bailey Hape said. “This was the goal. We haven’t done this in 36 years, but we can say we’ve done it now.”
How this played out didn’t fit perfectly in a box. Because a championship never does.
The Panthers bolted out to a 16-point lead in the first half with suffocating defense and perimeter shooting. Castle went nearly six minutes without scoring in the second quarter. The halftime advantage, 27-14, felt larger than it actually showed on the scoreboard. This was Reitz (20-2) at its peak.
It nearly unraveled possession by possession over the final 16 minutes. The Knights scratched within five early in the fourth. Then three with a minute remaining. Then two with 20.3 seconds and the ball. All of this without Hape, a Division I recruit, who fouled out with 2:34 left.
“You could see the look in our girls’ eyes,” Stone said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous.”
What occurred in that final stretch proved Reitz was finally ready. Rhyan Wagner stole a pass and slipped between two defenders to find Keilah Mitchell across halfcourt. The sophomore strolled for a layup to put the Panthers up four in the closing seconds.
It wasn’t her only valuable moment of the fourth quarter. Mitchell went 4 for 4 at the foul line, all with Hape on the bench, in the final minutes. The rest of the team was 0 for 8 in the championship. Reitz doesn’t win if their point guard fails to meet the moment.
“We wanted to play for B,” Mitchell said of Hape. “We know how hard she’s worked to get here. For our team to win, I had to play my hardest and make my free throws. We wanted our number to be up there. This is just the start.”
Give the Knights (21-5) one more possession and the ending might be different. Castle showed a level of resiliency typically reversed for championship teams. It cut the deficit in half once turnovers were eliminated. It clawed to within a single possession once three-pointers fell.
North Alabama recruit Jayden Scott had a game-high 17 points. But it was a true group effort to even have a chance – unsurprising after the pain they suffered together when Jack Mitchell, the father of senior Paiton Mitchell, suddenly passed away on Tuesday following the sectional opener.
Castle had to watch the final seconds tick away with no ability to stop it. One point short.
“They’re a resilient group,” Castle coach Josh Kain said. “Even in the toughest situations like it was this week. We started off real slow. Got a little bit better and probably just needed one more minute. That’s basketball sometimes. You have to find ways to win ugly.
“The seniors made it real special for me. We started the year 3-3 and started questioning whether I knew what the heck I was doing. We all hung in there together. Just didn’t quite finish what we wanted to accomplish this year.”
Perhaps it was fitting this moment for Reitz came against Castle. A program among the most successful around Evansville in recent memory. One which dominated this rivalry for a generation. Reitz had never beaten Castle in the state tournament. No victories of any kind against the Knights since 1992.
The Panthers finally earned the upper hand. Hape scored a team-high 15 points and Mitchell added 12 (nearly all of which came in the fourth quarter) for Reitz. Rhyan Wagner netted nine points in the opening frame. Kendall and Kierstyn Kaiser unofficially combined for 16 rebounds.
“I told the girls let’s be freakin’ fearless,” Stone said. “Who cares what it says on the front of their shirt? We don’t play our game against them. It starts me. I woke up and told our coaches, ‘We’re going to be Reitz.’ We just talked about who we were and how we got to this moment. We went out and did it.”
Reitz faces Columbus North (19-6) next weekend at Bedford North Lawrence. The time will come to focus on the Bull Dogs and the uncharted territory, at least in the last 36 years, that is the regional championship. Not on this night.
This was for a team which raised the potential of the program. For those who came before and laid the foundation. For those who continually aspired for the Panthers to be champions once again. A moment nearly four decades in the making.
“This program has made a night-and-day difference,” Hape said. “Credit to all of the girls and coaches. We’ve put in so much effort and preparation into this. I’m really proud that we were built for this moment.”
Class 3A at Vincennes Lincoln: No. 6 Washington defeated Princeton 60-42 to win its third straight sectional championship. The Hatchets (21-4) haven’t won three titles in a row since the 1990s.
Class 3A at Central: The No. 10 Bears earned a repeat championship with a 57-28 victory over Memorial. Southern Indiana recruit Maddy Shirley had 28 points and Karsyn Moore added 11. Central (17-11) plays Washington at Boonville in the regional.
Class 2A at Eastern Greene: No. 4 North Knox defeated Linton-Stockton 55-46 to win its first sectional title since 2023.
Class 2A at Tell City: No. 5 Mater Dei defeated North Posey 44-33 to earn its first sectional title since 2020. The Wildcats allowed only 39.0 points per game in three sectional victories. Mater Dei (20-4) plays North Knox (18-6) at Boonville in the regional.
Class 1A at Tecumseh: No. 8 Evansville Christian defeated No. 10 Springs Valley 44-37 to win its first sectional championship in program history. The Eagles (18-6) face White River Valley at Jasper in the regional.
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Reitz girls basketball wins first IHSAA sectional championship in 36 years
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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