NorthWood provides Payne and free throws to oust New Prairie for regional title
ELKHART – Under second-year coach Taylor Burkhart, the NorthWood Panthers girls basketball team has suddenly become a team to be weary of in the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 3A girls basketball tournament.
After finishing tied for third in the Northern Lakes Conference, the Panthers now have two stunning victories in a row. Saturday night at Jimtown High School, NorthWood got 18 points and 13 rebounds from 6-foot-2 junior center Claire Payne and hit 20 of 27 free throws, including 12 of 16 by junior guard Megan Yoder, to end the title hopes of New Prairie, 54-41.
Regional scores: H.S. girls basketball: Regional scores
Junior Haylee Heflin added 10 points in the victory which improved NorthWood’s record to 20-6 and came a week after a 34-32 victory over defending Class 3A state champion Fairfield in the West Noble Sectional championship.
“I think the culture of our program is going in a good direction right now,” said Burkhart, who is now 34-17 in his two seasons at the helm and now has the school’s 12th regional title under his belt. The last regional trophy came in 2020 when Adam Yoder’s Panthers finished off a 28-3 season with a 37-29 victory over Salem for the Class 3A state title.
“A regional title is huge for any program,” Burkhart said. “(This season) hasn’t always been the easiest. But once they started winning and being confident, that changed things.”
Coach Aimee Litka’s senior-laden Cougars, who finished runner-up in the Northern Indiana Conference and won their own sectional last Saturday, saw their season end at 20-6 despite 11 points each from senior Jayden Flagg and Morgan White.
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“Payne gave us a little pain down the stretch,” Litka joked quietly afterward.
Make that a lot.
“This means a lot to our team,” said Payne, who made 9 of 16 shots, most of them from close range. Six of her game-high 13 rebounds came in the second half and helped NorthWood to a 31-19 edge. “Last week against Fairfield, I don’t think I was as much of an offensive threat. So I really practiced hard this week.”
The biggest pain for the Cougars, however, was the loss of one of their eight seniors, 5-foot-9 senior guard Jolie Johns, who was fouled by Heflin with 4:05 remaining in the first half, fell to the floor and hurt her knee. She had to be helped to the bench where she sat and watched her team take a 24-23 halftime lead. Johns started the second half, but the knee buckled again in the first minute, ending her night with eight points.
“Early on, we were getting some shots and were able to utilize our strength of three scorers on the perimeter,” Litka said. “When you take one of those players out, it really helps (the opposing) defense out. It kind of changed how we were able to play.”
Flagg made a pair of free throws with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter to put New Prairie up 35-31. But the Cougars then were outscored 11-0 over the next 5:32 during which NorthWood opened up a 42-35 lead on Payne’s basket with 4:17 to play. The Panthers scored their final 12 points from the free-throw line, with Yoder making all eight and Heflin making four of six. The Panthers finished 15-of-18 from the line in the fourth quarter.
“We shoot free throws at least two times every practice,” Yoder said. “We talked about (making) free throws at halftime.”
“I’d have to go back and check, but I think this was one of our best free-throw shooting games of the season,” Burkhart added.
It couldn’t have come at a better time.
NORTHWOOD 54, NEW PRAIRIE 41
Class 3A-Regional 10 at Jimtown High School
NEW PRAIRIE (41): Maci Ernsperger 4, Jolie Johns 8, Jayden Flagg 11, Morgan White 11, Kaylee Hoggard 5, Jaleigh McBride 2, Lilli Armato 0, Makayla Willoughby 0, Lauren Abbott 0, Kayleigh Michael 0, Nevaeh Trobaugh 0, Morgan Flagg 0, TOTALS 15 6-7 41.
NORTHWOOD (54): Ella Branham 0, Megan Yoder 12, Callie Johnson 5, Haylee Heflin 10, Claire Payne 18, Kinzee Hartman 9, Addie Davis 0, Emily Miller 0, Tessa Branham 0, Brooke Johnson 0, Jenna Householter 0, TOTALS 15 20-27 54.
New Prairie | 12 | 24 | 35 | 41
NorthWood | 13 | 23 | 35 | 54
3-point goals: New Prairie 5 (Flagg 3, Johns 1, White 1), NorthWood 4 (Hartman 3, C. Johnson 1). Shooting: New Prairie 15 of 35 for 42.9 percent, NorthWood 15 of 42 for 35.7 percent. Rebounds: New Prairie 19 (White 6), NorthWood 31 (Payne 13). Turnovers: New Prairie 19, NorthWood 15. Total fouls (fouled out): New Prairie 25 (Ernsberger, McBride, Willoughby), NorthWood 12 (none). Records: New Prairie 20-6, NorthWood 20-6.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: NorthWood girls basketball wins IHSAA 3A regional title over New Prairie
