Girls Basketball: Penn wins Sectional Opener

Penn used a relentless defense to open state tournament action as the Kingsmen bolted to a 51-19 victory against Concord in the Class 4-A Northridge High School Girls Basketball sectional on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024.

Penn (17-6) advances to sectional semifinal play on Friday, Feb. 2, at Northridge Middle School. The Kingsmen play Goshen (11-11) at approximately 7:30 p.m. Northridge (22-3) plays Elkhart (13-9) in Friday’s first game (6 p.m. tip-off). Concord’s season ends at 9-13.

Defense sparked Penn’s domination early. The Kingsmen opened up a 13-2 lead after one quarter and led 21-10 at halftime. Penn outscored Concord 30-9 in the second half.

Lauren Walsh led Penn with 13 points. Kristlynn Minor scored 10 points, and Macy Little scored seven points. Jessa Troy and Anna McCullough scored six points each. Karleisha Echols scored five points.

PENN 51: Lauren Walsh 13, Karleisha Echols 5, Kate Noonan 0, Ava Stebbins 2, Jessa Troy 6, Anna McCullough 6, Anna Sachire 2, Macy Little 7, Kristlynn Minor 10, Alivia Dawson 0, Lizzy Green 0.

Concord 19: Shiloh Smith 0, Shelby Emerick 8, Claire Campanello 2, Halle Ganger 2, Kam Zilm 0, Hayden Casey 4, Annika Troyer 2, Mileah McKain 0, Dom Stelley 1, Chelsee Huffman 0, Viv Casey 0, Zaza Zilm 0.

PENN                    13           21           39           51

Concord               2             10           18           19

Three-pointers: PENN 3 (Jessa Troy 2, Kristlynn Minor 1), Concord 2 (Emerick 2).