The University girls defended their IHSAA Class 2A Regional championship Saturday with a pair of comfortable wins at Southmont High School.
The Trailblazers defeated North Putnam 64-38 in the championship game after beating Union County 59-24 in the morning game.
University (23-4) advances to the semi-state at Jasper High School on Saturday, where they will face Forest Park (24-3) at 4 p.m.
The first quarter of the championship game was a back and forth contest, with North Putnam holding an 11-9 lead with 2:50 remaining. Taylor Seay split a pair of foul shots before Emily Adamowicz scored on a rebound to put the Trailblazers ahead for good. Patty Chikamba made a pair of foul shots and Payton Seay’s rebound basket with three seconds left put University ahead 16-11 after one.
University began to open up their lead in the second quarter. The Blazers scored eight straight points to take a 26-14 lead with 4:38 left in the period. Chikamba and Payton Seay each had four points in the run. University led by as many as 16 in the quarter and took a 34-21 lead to the locker room at half time. The Cougars had no answer for Payton Seay’s post up game in the first half as the 5-5 junior scored 12 first half points. Chikamba had 11 points in the first half.
The Trailblazers removed all doubt in the third quarter, outscoring North Putnam 18-5, ending the quarter on a 10-0 run. Kelsey DuBois scored six points in the quarter on a three point shot and an old fashioned three point play. Payton Seay and Chikamba kicked in five points each in the third as the Blazers led 52-26 entering the final quarter.
Payton Seay led University in scoring with 19 points. Chikamba had 16 and DuBois 14 as the Blazers placed three in double figures.
University dominated the boards against the Cougars, pulling down a season-high 51 rebounds. DuBois led with eight rebounds, Adamowicz and Chikamba had seven each. Kamryn Washington pulled down six rebounds while Jordan Patterson had five. Taylor Seay and Alex Feeney each had four rebounds.
Patterson had a team-high five assists while Chikamba handed out four helpers.
University advanced to the championship game with a dominant performance against Union County, defeating the Lady Patriots 59-24. The game had a running clock for the last 11 minutes.
The Trailblazers defensive pressure overwhelmed Union County, leading to 21 University steals, including several that led to easy baskets. Chikamba had eight steals and Taylor Seay had four.
University’s scoring was again led by its big three of Chikamba (16), DuBois (11) and Payton Seay (11).
University substituted liberally throughout the game and none of the Blazers’ starters played in the last 10 minutes of the contest.
The Trailblazers jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the first three minutes. Seay started the game with two foul shots before a DuBois rebound basket. Patterson hit a three pointer and DuBois scored again off a Chikamba rebound. Washington made it 11-3 on a fast break that was triggered by a Chikamba blocked shot. University led 16-8 after the first quarter.
University led 33-14 at halftime, scoring the last eight points of the quarter. Chikamba had 11 first half points and DuBois added nine.
The Trailblazers held Union County scoreless for the first six minutes of the third quarter, while scoring the first 19 points to stretch their scoring run to 27 straight. The running clock started with 3:00 left in the third quarter after Adamowicz stole a pass and scored a lay-in.
North Putnam’s season ended at 18-9 while Union County bowed out at 12-9.
The Regional championship was University’s third in four seasons and fifth in school history. The Trailblazers will be looking for their second semi-state championship, to join the 2008 state runner-up squad.
UNIVERSITY 59, UNION COUNTY 24
University FG FT TP PF
Kelsey DuBois 4-8 3-4 11 0
Patty Chikamba 7-11 1-2 16 2
Kamryn Washington 2-4 1-2 5 0
Payton Seay 2-7 7-7 11 2
Jordan Patterson 1-2 0-0 3 2
Emily Adamowicz 2-6 0-0 4 1
Taylor Seay 2-2 0-1 4 0
Abby Hannon 0-0 0-0 0 0
Anne Gibboney 1-2 0-0 3 0
Becky Williams 0-0 0-0 0 1
Arrion Sherrod 1-3 0-1 2 0
Alex Feeney 0-1 0-0 0 1
Totals 22-46 12-17 59 9
Score by Quarters
University 16 17 19 7 – 59
Union County 8 6 2 8 – 24
University 3-point shooting (3-14) Chikamba 1-5, Gibboney 1-2, Patterson 1-2, Adamowicz 0-3, P. Seay 0-1, Sherrod 0-1.
University rebounds (19) DuBois 6, Chikamba 3, Gibboney 2, Washington 2, P. Seay 2, Adamowicz 1, Williams 1, Hannon 1, T. Seay 1.
UNIVERSITY 64, NORTH PUTNAM 38
University FG FT TP PF
Kelsey DuBois 6-9 1-1 14 2
Patty Chikamba 6-10 3-4 16 5
Kamryn Washington 0-1 1-2 1 4
Payton Seay 9-18 1-1 19 4
Jordan Patterson 1-4 2-2 4 2
Emily Adamowicz 2-4 0-0 4 0
Taylor Seay 1-2 2-5 4 2
Abby Hannon 0-0 0-0 0 0
Anne Gibboney 0-1 0-0 0 0
Becky Williams 0-0 0-0 0 0
Arrion Sherrod 0-0 0-0 0 0
Alex Feeney 1-4 0-0 2 2
Totals 26-53 10-15 64 21
Score by Quarters
University 16 18 18 12 – 64
North Putnam 11 10 5 13 – 38
University 3-point shooting (2-11) Chikamba 1-2, DuBois 1-1, P. Seay 0-4, Patterson 0-2, Adamowicz 0-1, Washington 0-1.
University rebounds (47) DuBois 8, Chikamba 7, Adamowicz 7, Washington 6, Patterson 5, P. Seay 4, T. Seay 4, Feeney 4, Hannon 1, Sherrod 1.