New Prairie girls basketball's historic start ends at hands of South Bend Washington
SOUTH BEND — For 10 minutes Thursday, New Prairie hung with one of the top teams in the state in South Bend Washington before falling 62-39.
Entering with a 9-0 record and plenty of confidence, the Cougars took a 14-13 lead over the Panthers after the first quarter, a rare spot for Washington in the last three-plus seasons. New Prairie relinquished the lead briefly in the second quarter before regaining it, 18-17, with 6:25 left before halftime.
That’s when everything changed in favor of the Panthers.
A 9-0 run to end the half put the home team ahead, 26-18, at the break. Washington’s defense swarmed the Cougars in the third, forcing 12 turnovers to win the frame, 21-6.
The Panthers went on to win by 23 points in a battle between the last two unbeatens in Northern Indiana Conference play. It’s the 35th straight NIC win overall for Washington (7-2, 5-0 NIC), dating back to the 2020-21 season.
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“One of the things you have to do when pressure is not foul,” Washington coach Steven Reynolds said. “When you do that, it gives us that aggressive edge that we like to use on teams. We just try to make it to the second half where we can pick it up, regroup and not get those fouls so we can continue to put the pressure on them.”
The Panthers were shorthanded Thursday, as they were without star forward Kira Reynolds. The 6-foot-3 junior is still nursing an ankle injury, which coach Reynolds noting the rehab is going “slower than we want it to be.” Washington doesn’t play again until Dec. 8 against Clay, giving Kira Reynolds a chance to heal before the Panthers’ next contest.
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Not only that, but the Panthers were down to two coaches out of its normal five-person staff due to ailment.
Monique Mitchell led Washington with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Ayanna Nicholson scored two points, but hauled in 11 rebounds to lead her team in that department. Ryiah Wilson scored 13 points and Makayla McNeal 10 to reach double-digits for the Panthers.
“What I lean on is what I know, and what I know is this group is very, very tough,” Steven Reynolds said. “They’re very resilient. They’ve been through some battles. These aren’t regular sophomores and juniors. These kids have been in some real battles just due to our schedule. … When things are tough, I have a lot of confidence in them that they’ll right the ship.”
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After having its first winning season since 2003-04 last year, the Cougars have picked up right where they left off.
The 9-0 start to the season was the best in program history, surpassing the 7-0 mark by the 2001-02 team. The Cougars have been getting contributions from up-and-down the lineup, especially from its all-senior starting lineup of Morgan White, Jayden Flagg, Jolie Johns, Maci Ernsperger and Kaylee Hoggard.
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“It’s just major belief in the process,” said New Prairie coach Aimee Litka, who described the key to the team’s fast start. “This senior class is my first class coming in, and we took a lot of lumps. But buying into the process, believing in the system, the girls maturing and developing and really getting along gives you that surge early on.”
White was the catalyst for New Prairie (9-1, 5-1 NIC) Thursday. She scored 12 of her team’s 14 points in the first quarter, including a jumper with 38 seconds left in the frame to put her team ahead after eight minutes of play.
Washington contained her the rest of the evening, though, as White was held to four points the final three quarters. Flagg was the only other Cougar to reach double digits in scoring with 10 points.
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A total of 23 turnovers doomed New Prairie.
“That four-minute span in the third quarter is where we had a ‘moment,’ I guess I would call it,” Litka said. “But the best thing about our team is they don’t quit. There’s a minute left and we’re shooting the passing lanes, we’re still trying to get steals, we’re still competing, and we’re doing things the right way.”
Even though it was a loss, Litka remains confident in the direction of her team.
“I feel good about where we’re at as a team right now,” Litka said. “I think every game is a good test. Washington is a good team; they’re athletic, they do a lot of things really well. Four years ago, they beat us by 50 or something. You don’t forget that, so competing at a high level – it was single-digits at halftime. … Our girls were ready to battle.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Prairie girls basketball's historic start ends at hands of South Bend Washington
