The East Noble’s girls’ basketball team took on the North Side Redskins in its first round of sectionals on Tuesday.  The Lady Knights pounced on the Redskins early and defeated them, 47-25, holding North Side under 10 points in every quarter and improving their season record to 16-9.  The Knights’ defeat of the Redskins was a solid start to the postseason for the morale of the team.

Going into sectionals, the aura of the team was already positive, suffering some setbacks during the regular season but recovering and ending the regular season on a positive note with a share of the inaugural Northeast 8 conference title.

“We have finally gotten everyone back to almost full strength from injuries and are playing really well together,” East Noble head coach DeAnn Booth said. “Our two major goals this season were to win conference and win sectionals.  We have achieved one of those and are now turning our focus on the other.”

During the regular season, senior Chandler Jones and sophomore Corie Jones both suffered injuries to their knees, causing them each to miss several games.  Both girls have been significant contributors to the team this year, and having them healthy in the postseason proved to be beneficial Tuesday night, with each grabbing six rebounds.

In addition to the Jones girls, junior Lanie Allen led the team in scoring with 14 points and shot 6-of-6 from the free throw line, while senior Katie Kline scored 11 with six rebounds and senior Paige DeCamp scored nine, grabbing six rebounds herself.

With a 16-point lead going into halftime, the Lady Knights knew that although they had a significant lead, they still needed to keep pressing on and not let up.

“They have played enough games to know that on any night, any team can win,” Booth said. “I just reminded them in the locker room at halftime that we not only need to finish out this game, but we can also use the rest of the game to start preparing for our next one.”

Coming out of halftime, East Noble again stifled North Side for the rest of the game, knowing that it could not let up.  When the buzzer sounded and the Knights were victorious, they knew that the journey wasn’t over and they were just one step closer to their second goal of a sectional title.  Booth and the Lady Knights said that this week, they have been continuously working towards their goal, always improving during practice.

East Noble will look to continue their journey through the postseason on Friday, February 5, when they square off against DeKalb, a team it defeated 54-38 earlier in the year on the road.

“We have had a heightened amount of focus in practice and continue to work hard,” Booth said. “The seniors have realized that each game could be their last and are not ready for it to end.”