LAPORTE ― The postgame tears in the eyes of Jillie Sanderson told the tale of the Penn girls basketball team Saturday, Feb. 14.
That real show of true emotion showed just how much her first season in a Kingsmen uniform truly meant to the star freshman guard.
It was an emotional Sanderson as she tried to grasp a season-ending 54-45 loss to Crown Point in the Class 4A LaPorte Regional.
The Bulldogs, who avenged a 41-38 regular season loss at Penn back on Dec. 6, outscored the Kingsmen 21-12 in the final period to punch their ticket to the semi-state.
Crown Point, which claimed its 11 overall regional crown and first since 2022, improved to 23-4 with its 14th win in its last 15 games. The Bulldogs advance to the four-team semistate on Saturday, Feb. 21.
No. 12 Penn, which won the Northern Indiana Conference and sectional titles, finished at 24-4. The Kingsmen saw their 13-game winning streak end as well.
Star sophomore guard Ava Richie, who never slowed down the entire 32 minutes at either end of the floor, led Crown Point with 14 points. Sophomore guard Sidney Hale scored 13 points, including seven in the final period. Ivy Henderson, a 6-4 junior, added 11 points.
Sanderson was the lone Penn player to hit double figures with 17 points. Sophomore Lexi Werner added nine points and freshman Makenzie Juszczak finished with seven points.
Crown Point shot lights out in the second half to sideline a Penn team that was hit hard by illness this past week. The Bulldogs shot 15-of-21 from the field in the second half to outscore Penn 39-26.
Penn entered play Saturday night allowing just 28 ppg and with a winning margin of 28 ppg. The Bulldogs hit 8-of-11 shots in the fourth quarter and calmly drained 5-of-6 free throws for the win.
Sanderson, who moved in from Tennessee last summer, showed her value, leading her team with 17 points. She hit back-to-back treys, including banking in the second one at the horn, to pull her team even at 33-33 after the third period.
Sanderson was emotional when talking about Penn’s seniors. Senior Anna Sachire did not get to play all season due to a knee injury and senior Macy Little was sidelined late in the regular season, also due to a knee injury.
“This is really hard due to our seniors,” said Sanderson, taking a moment to wipe away the tears. “That’s the biggest thing and why it hurts so much. I never got to play with Anna and Macy was my best friend.”
Both Sanderson, who led her team in scoring on the season at 14 ppg, and Penn coach Kristi Ulrich pointed to communication lapses as the major reason behind so many defensive breakdowns. Crown Point was able to hit a slew of layups in the final half to post the win.
“We did not have good communication tonight on defense and they definitely out executed us,” said coach Ulrich. “I don’t have the answers now, but we didn’t have our whole team all week coming into this due to illness. That impacts the preparation.
“We ran out of gas. I thought we showed some of our youth at moments and we lacked poise at times down the stretch. I do want them to bottle this feeling up. We have work to do in the offseason.”
Penn led 10-7 after the opening period and 19-15 at halftime in the physical contest. Richie, who had 18 points in the loss to Penn earlier in the season, kept her team close with nine points. She entered play leading her team at 17 ppg.
The Kingsmen lose three seniors in Anna Sachire, Macy Little and Isabella Wroblewski. Penn also played all season without standout sophomore Addison Hummel, who was also sidelined due to a knee injury.
“I think the sickness did hurt us tonight,” Sanderson said. “I’m not making excuses, but some of us could not get as much preparation this week because of it. I think that it hurt us on communication tonight. Some of my teammates could barely talk.
“They executed and took advantage of things on screens when we did not communicate, and we were really focused on Richie and Henderson. I also think we did not match their physicality. We were not tough enough.”
Sanderson said that she was one of the few Penn players to be healthy all week.
The Kingsmen, who started all underclassmen Saturday night, also hurt itself with turnovers. Penn had 15 miscues to just seven for the Bulldogs.
Penn lost games to Valparaiso, Warsaw, Homestead and Crown Point. The Bulldogs have losses to Penn, Valparaiso, Hammond Morton and Marquette Catholic.
Ulrich, now in her 17th season, also took time to reflect on the season.
“Overall, we had a terrific year,” Ulrich emphasized. “We won 24 games versus a tough schedule with three players going down for us. We won the NIC and a sectional title. I don’t think many people expected us to win 24 games like we did. It’s hard now, but when our kids reflect on the season as a whole, they should feel good about what they accomplished.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Bulldogs bite Penn to earn girls basketball regional championship
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
