With Reynolds at point, SB Washington girls basketball wins fourth-straight sectional title

SOUTH BEND – South Bend Washington girls basketball head coach Steven Reynolds knew South Bend Adams was going to put a lot of pressure on his team.

Luckily, he had an ace up his sleeve to combat that: his daughter, the 6-foot-3 junior Kira Reynolds.

Instead of using one of their point guards against the Eagles' press defense, it was Reynolds bringing the ball up the court for most of the game. It helped Washington lead wire-to-wire, winning 77-45 over Adams in the Class 4A, Sectional 3 championship game.

It’s the program’s fourth-straight sectional title, winning Class 3A championships in 2021 and 2022 and the last two years at the 4A level.

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“There’s a lot of layers to Kira Reynolds’ game,” said Steven Reynolds of the Purdue commit. “There’s a different dynamic with her being my daughter and everything, but when we need her to do something, she can do it all. That showed up (Saturday). We struggled a little bit bringing the ball up, but we knew that we had that in our back pocket.”

Kira Reynolds was the star all night for Washington. She finished with 24 points while blocking several Adams shot attempts along the way. The Panthers built on its lead after every quarter, leading 21-7 after one, 35-17 at halftime and 56-35 through three periods.

“One of our goals (Saturday) was to put 32 minutes together: no moping, no pouting, no misunderstandings,” Steven Reynolds said. “We are an older group, but not as experienced. We want to try to be more mature and more professional, those kinds of things. Those things will help us as we are now in the sweet 16.”

Adams (14-11) did all it could to keep up with the high-octane Panthers. Anytime it seemed Washington was going to run away with the game, the Eagles were able to keep it within striking distance. They had cut the deficit to 14 early in the fourth quarter before the Panthers closed the game on a 21-3 run.

“They gave it their best, and that’s all we wanted them to do; just come out, be free, have a good time and leave it all on the floor,” said Adams coach Maurice Scott of his team. “They did that. … We just wanted to apply pressure and make (Washington) play; make them be who they are and not make it easy. I think we did that for a good three quarters.”

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Steven Reynolds tipped his cap to the way the Eagles played.

“We needed this,” Reynolds said. “I think we just grinded out, and sometimes, you have to do that in the tournament. I am very thankful to coach Scott and Adams for not just showing up and laying down. They came out here and they came at us, and we needed that.”

As the final minutes of the game ticked down, Scott made sure to talk to each of his seniors on the bench individually.

“I just wanted to tell them, ‘Thank you,’” said Scott, who was in his first season leading the Eagles. “These are great kids. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids, especially with the senior leadership. They were great all year. They showed up at practice, from the starters to the reserves, and never complained. Every day, they would come and give it their best. I’m just proud to be an Eagle.”

Up next for Washington is a regional championship matchup with Lake Central (23-4). The Indians defeated Merrillville, 51-39, in the Sectional 1 final Saturday night. Washington and Lake Central faced off three months ago, with the Panthers picking up a three-point win on Nov. 4.

“These are not easy to get,” said Steven Reynolds of a sectional championship. “There’s a lot of things these kids go through with their families, and you’re just trying to serve them, trying to help, trying to coach, trying to teach. It’s a lot, but it’s definitely worth it.”

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Washington makes it four girls basketball sectionals in a row