Monique Mitchell steps up as Washington girls basketball holds off Penn, 43-33
SOUTH BEND — Steve Reynolds’ post-game talk to his No. 6 South Bend Washington girls basketball team lasted longer than counterpart Kristi Ulrich’s to her visiting Penn Lady Kingsmen Friday night at the Great Western Forum.
Guess which team won the battle of Northern Indiana Conference unbeatens?
“We’re just young,” the calmed-down Reynolds said after his Panthers got 22 points from junior forward Monique Mitchell and 13 from junior guard Ryiah Wilson in a 43-33 victory over Penn. “We’re just young. We had a game plan; I thought we executed in spurts. We want to be disciplined.”
With his future Purdue-bound junior daughter Kira Reynolds limited to five points because of first-half foul trouble, Reynolds saw the 5-foot-11 Mitchell step up big for his 5-1 Panthers, who improved to 3-0 in the NIC heading into Tuesday’s home game against South Bend Saint Joseph.
Friday night football: Friday night high school football scores and state finals pairings
“We said coming into the game we weren’t going to allow a certain player (Kira Reynolds) to beat us,” Ulrich said, “and someone else (Mitchell) from their team stepped up big time.”
Mitchell hit nine of 20 shots to score her 22 points and added seven rebounds. She, Kira Reynolds and Wilson, whose 13 points included a pair of 3-pointers, were starters for Washington’s 27-1 team which lost 62-57 in the Class 4A northern semistate to Lake Central last year. That ended the Panthers’ hopes of winning back-to-back state titles (Washington beat Silver Creek 93-35 for the Class 3A title in 2022).
“I kinda expected they would try to get Kira in foul trouble, and I’d have to take that role on,” Mitchell said. “I was focused from the beginning of the game.”
Unfortunately, Penn was not, going 0-for-11 from the field as Mitchell scored six points to lead Washington to an 11-2 lead after the first eight minutes. She scored five more in the second quarter as Washington opened up a 19-2 lead before Karleisha Echols scored Penn’s first basket and completed a three-point play at 2:51 to begin a 12-0 Penn run that continued into the third quarter.
Wilson and Mitchell then completed 3-point plays of their own to start a 16-2 run that completed the third quarter to put Washington up 35-16. The Panthers’ biggest lead was 22 points — 41-19 — thanks to a Mitchell free throw with 6:10 left to play.
“We learned tonight that the only way we can lose is if we beat ourselves,” Mitchell said.
No quit in the Kingsmen
The Kingsmen, who got 10 points with the help of three 3-pointers by Jessa Troy, scored the last 11 points of the game.
“We took some rushed shots at the beginning and had some good shots in that middle stretch,” said Ulrich, who guided Penn to a state title in 2016. “We just couldn’t consistently score. But I’m proud of the kids. They could have quit, could have folded and got blown out by 30-plus. But we still had someone diving on the floor with 20 seconds to go.”
WASHINGTON 43, PENN 33
At Washington High School, South Bend
PENN (33): Lauren Walsh 2, Karleisha Echols 7, Jessa Troy 10, Anna Sachire 1, Anna McCullough 7, Kristlynn Minor 2, Macy Little 4, Kate Noonan 0, TOTALS 12 6-10 33.
WASHINGTON (43): Kira Reynolds 5, Monique Mitchell 22, Ryiah Wilson 13, Kyra Lowe 1, Zeya Alexander 0, Ayanna Nicholson 0, Makyla McNeal 0, Jamiyah Parahams 0, Taliyah Alexander 2, TOTALS 16 8-13 43.
Penn | 2 | 9 | 16 | 33
Washington | 11 | 19 | 35 | 43
3-point goals: Penn 3 (Troy 3); Washington 3 (Wilson 2, Mitchell 1). Shooting: Penn 12 of 46 for 26.1 percent; Washington 16 of 45 for 35.6 percent. Rebounds: Penn 30 (Sachire 8); Washington 37 (Reynolds 9, Mitchell 7).Turnovers: Penn 18, Washington 23. Total fouls (fouled out): Penn 14 (none); Washington 13 (none). Records: Penn 3-2 (2-1 Northern Indiana Conference); Washington 5-1 (3-0 Northern Indiana Conference). Next: Penn at Warsaw Tuesday; South Bend Saint Joseph at Washington Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Washington girls basketball holds off Penn in league clash
