Penn, Fairfield fall short in girls basketball Semi-State

Penn and Fairfield saw their incredible seasons come to an end in the girls basketball Semi-State, while Marquette Catholic is moving on to the 1A state title game.

Penn was in a tight battle with Zionsville in 4A at Valpo but the Eagles were clutch from the free throw line and pulled away for a 53-45 win. The Kingsmen season ends with a 26-2 record as the careers of seniors Sara Doi and Tia Chambers come to an end.

"I feel like we gave it our all in this game and did whatever we had to do," said an emotional Tia Chambers, one of three Penn seniors. "We just didn't do the little things to get the job done tonight."

"It's heartbreaking," said senior Sara Doi. "Going into this game, we were with them the whole game and so them pulling away at the end, it's heart breaking."

The game was tied at 12 after one while Zionsville took a one point lead into halftime thanks to a three from freshman Katey Richason. Richason and Megan Sheridan led Zionsville with 17 points each.

Penn's Tia Chambers hit a jumper before the buzzer to give the Kingsmen a 33-32 lead entering the 4th.

With Penn being in foul trouble early on in the fourth quarter, Zionsville took advantage at the free throw line.

With about four minutes to play, the Eagles extended their lead to five before icing the game away at the charity stripe to get the 53-45 victory, ending Penn's season.

"It's unfortunate we come up one game shy of the state title but hopefully this makes all of the younger kids a lot hungrier for the future to know exactly what it takes to be able to get back to this stage again in the future," said Penn girls basketball coach Kristi Kaniewski.

Sophomore Reganne Pate led Penn with nine points. Freshman Jordyn Smith and senior Sara Doi had eight each.

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Fairfield's best season in school history came to an end with a 70-43 loss to #1 Northwestern in the 3A Semi-State at Logansport.

Northwestern used its size to control the game from the get go, leading 19-12 after one, 39-20 at halftime and 58-31 after three.

Fairfield was making its first ever appearance in Semi-State after winning their 1st regional championship in program history last week.

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In 1A, Marquette Catholic rolled to a 58-18 win over Tri-Central in the early game at Valpo.

The Blazers are headed to the 1A State Finals next Saturday morning at Bankers Life Fieldhouse where they will take on Vincennes Rivet.