Lady Vikings fall short in sectional final to Mater Dei

North Posey senior Ella Weatherholt looks for room to maneuver during basketball sectional action this weekend. The Lady Vikings have had a good run over the past few years but fell short in the final. Photo by Dave Pearce

By Chris Morlan

Hoosier Hysteria is here at last for high school girls’ basketball. Last Tuesday night, the North Posey Lady Vikings played their opening round game of Indiana High School Athletic Association sectionals from Tell City High School.

In their opening round game, North Posey played against Tell City who defeated the Lady Vikings 62-47 less than two weeks ago. On Tuesday night, the outcome was much different with the Lady Vikings setting the tone of the game early and defeating the Lady Marksmen 53-26.

This was one of the best games the North Posey girls have played since they were on a seven-game win streak back in late November, early December. North Posey started off the game with an early 11-0 lead. Tell City went on a 6-0 run of their own but that was about all the Lady Marksmen did for the remainder of the game.

North Posey closed out the first quarter with a 16-7 advantage. During the second quarter, the Lady Viking defense was unstoppable and forced Tell City to commit numerous turnovers. In the second quarter, Tell City was held to three points. At the halftime break, North Posey led by the score of 28-10.

The Lady Vikings did not let up in the third quarter outscoring the Lady Marksmen 16-7 to extend their advantage to 44-17. When the fourth quarter arrived, this game was out of reach for Tell City to make a comeback. Most of the starters sat in the fourth quarter. Both teams each scored nine points in the final period with the Vikings winning by twenty-seven points.

Many people in the sports world say that defense wins games and that is exactly what North Posey did in this opening round game of the sectional. North Posey had three players scored in double digits led by Kyleigh Bender scoring a game-high 13 points. Jaz Ward and Elle Jo Johnson each scored 10 points. Mallory Luigs with nine points and Ella Weatherholt with seven points.

Back on January 22, when the Lady Vikings lost to Tell City 62-47. The Lady Marksmen were led by Reese Ford scoring 34 points. In the game last Tuesday night, Ford led the team in scoring but was held to only ten points.

Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at Tell City High School

IHSAA Class 2A- Sectional 48 (Opening Round)

North Posey 16 12 16 9 — 53

Tell City 7 3 7 9 — 26

NORTH POSEY (53): M. Luigs 4 1-2 9, K. Bender 5 1-1 13, E. Weatherholt 3 0-0 7, J. Ward 4 2-4 10, E. Johnson 5 0-0 10, A. Murphy 0 0-0 0, K. Seibert 0 0-0 0, T. Reich 2 0-0 4, I. Hallam 0 0-0 0, C. Kirchoff 0 0-0 0, G. Cooper 0 0-0 0.

TELL CITY (26): H. Rayburn 1 0-0 3, R. Ford 4 1-2 10, K. Lane 1 3-4 5, A. Coyle 2 0-1 4, T. Lane 1 0-0 2, M. Martin 0 0-0 0, L. Schneider 0 0-0 0, C. Hartz 0 2-2 2, Z. Noland 0 0-0 0, L. Bieri 0 0-2 0, L. Hollinden 0 0-0 0.

3-point field goals: North Posey 3 (K. Bender 2, E. Weatherholt 1), Tell City 2 (H. Rayburn 1, R. Ford 1); Free Throws: North Posey 4-7, Tell City 6-11; Total Fouls: North Posey 12, Tell City 5.

The North Posey Lady Viking basketball team played against the Perry Central Commodores last Friday night in Class 2A, Sectional 48 semifinal game from Tell City High school. The winner of this game will play the winner of the second semifinal game between South Spencer and Evansville Mater Dei in the sectional championship.

North Posey started off in the first quarter a little slow and trailed 6-2 to the Commodores. Then the Vikings picked up their pace, going on a 9-0 run to close out the first period. At the end of the first quarter, North Posey led 11-6.

The Lady Vikings started off the second quarter playing well and leading by as many as twelve points at 22-10. That was when Perry Central crept back into the game with an 8-1 run of their own to cut the deficit down to five points. Going into the halftime break, North Posey led 23-18. In the third quarter, North Posey built a huge lead by outscoring Perry Central 18-5 during this eight-minute stretch to extend their lead out to 41-23, ending the period. The only negative thing in the third period for North Posey was going five for thirteen from the free throw line.

North Posey boosted their advantage to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter at 43-30. The Lady Vikings were taking some of the starters out of the game at the end of this matchup. Perry Central got the score under 20 points as time expired. North Posey won by the final score of 51-35.

Jaz Ward led the Vikings by scoring a game-high 17 points. Mallory Luigs finished with 12 points and Ella Weatherholt with eight points. Masen Labhart led Perry Central in scoring with 15 points.

For the season, North Posey improved their record to fourteen wins and eleven losses. Perry Central’s season ended with thirteen wins and eight losses. The Lady Vikings will play Evansville Mater Dei in the championship game. Mater Dei beat South Spencer 46-39.

Friday, February 6, 2026, at Tell City High School

IHSAA Class 2A- Sectional 48 (Semifinal Round)

North Posey 11 12 18 10 — 51

Perry Central 7 12 5 12 — 35

NORTH POSEY (51): M. Luigs 4 3-4 12, K. Bender 2 1-1 5, E. Weatherholt 4 0-2 8, J. Ward 5 7-14 17, E. Johnson 0 5-8 5, A. Murphy 2 0-0 4, K. Seibert 0 0-0 0, T. Reich 2 0-0 4, C. Kirchoff 0 0-0 0, G. Cooper 0 0-0 0.

PERRY CENTRAL (35): B. Yeager 2 1-4 5, M. Labhart 6 3-6 15, G. Sommer 3 1-3 8, C. Peter 0 0-0 0, M. Litherland 2 0-0 4, A. Elmer 1 0-0 3, J. Craney 0 0-0 0, J. Zorn 0 0-0 0 .

Field Goals: North Posey 17-42, Perry Central 14-42; 3-point field goals: North Posey 1-13 (M. Luigs 1), Perry Central 2-15 (G. Sommer 1, A. Elmer 1); Free Throws: North Posey 16-30, Perry Central 5-13; Rebounds: North Posey 26, Perry Central 16; Turnovers: North Posey 9, Perry Central 22; Total Fouls: North Posey 13, Tell City 21.

Last Saturday evening, the North Posey Lady Viking basketball team advanced to the Class 2A, Sectional 48 championship game against the Evansville Mater Dei Lady Wildcats to see which team will punch their ticket to the upcoming regional round of the state tournament.

This matchup started off in the right direction for the Lady Vikings taking an early 4-0 advantage. Then Mater Dei rattled off the next seven points to gain the lead at 7-4. North Posey closed out the first quarter, tying the game in the first eight minutes at the score of 8-8.

North Posey’s defense played great in the second quarter holding Mater Dei without a field goal. The Wildcats only scored two points in the second quarter off two free throw shots. The Lady Vikings led at the halftime break 15-10.

Mater Dei came out of the halftime break looking like a different team putting up twenty third quarter points on the scoreboard. North Posey was held to ten points for the third period. At the end of the third quarter, Mater Dei led 30-25.

Shots were not falling through the hoop for the Lady Vikings. Mater Dei outscored North Posey 15-8 in the fourth quarter to defeat the Lady Vikings by the final score of 45-33. This was Mater Dei first sectional championship since the 2020 season. North Posey’s season ended with fourteen wins and twelve losses.

Jaz Ward played a great game, scoring a game-high of 19 points for the Lady Vikings. Ella Weatherholt finished with six points, Kyleigh Bender with four points, and Elle Jo Johnson scored four points. Leah Heldman led Mater Dei in scoring with 16 points.

Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Tell City High School

IHSAA Class 2A- Sectional 48 (Sectional Championship)

North Posey 8 7 10 8 — 33

Mater Dei 8 2 20 15 — 45

NORTH POSEY (33): M. Luigs 0 0-0 0, K. Bender 1 2-3 4, E. Weatherholt 3 0-0 6, J. Ward 7 5-7 19, E. Johnson 1 2-4 4, A. Murphy 0 0-0 0, K. Seibert 0 0-0 0, T. Reich 0 0-0 0.

EVANSVILLE MATER DEI (45): A. Boots 3 1-4 9, L. Heldman 4 7-7 16, K. Wunderlich 2 2-2 6, I. Like 2 3-4 7, M. Ford 2 1-2 5, A. Collins 0 0-2 0, K. Devers 0 0-0 0, L. Kassenbrock 0 0-0 0, H. Dickerson 0 2-2 2.

Field Goals: North Posey 12-50, Mater Dei 13-40; 3-point field goals: North Posey 0-13, Mater Dei 3-13 (A. Boots 2, L. Heldman 1); Free Throws: North Posey 9-14, Mater Dei 16-23; Rebounds: North Posey 24, Mater Dei 37; Turnovers: North Posey 9, Mater Dei 14; Total Fouls: North Posey 19, Mater Dei 14.