Lady Vikings get pair of badly-needed wins this week

North Posey Viking Chloe Kirchoff gets her tongue just right while preparing to put up this shot during Viking basketball action this week at Tecumseh. Kirchoff has split time this season between the varsity and reserve teams as the Vikings are led by seven seniors. The Lady Vikes appear to be recovering from some mid-season losses after facing some of the toughest teams in the area and the state. The Vikes were back in action on Monday evening at North Posey hosting Evansville Christian School. Photo courtesy of Terry Doughty.

By Chris Morlan

North Posey Lady Viking basketball team played their first game of the 2026 calendar year last Monday night on the road at Evansville Harrison High School. The Lady Vikings were looking to get back to their winning way against the Lady Warriors. That is exactly what North Posey did against Harrison winning by the final score of 61-51.

At the start of this game, North Posey led all but one time when Harrison tied the game at two apiece. For the remainder of the game, North Posey kept the lead and cruised to a ten-point win. After one quarter of the game completed, North Posey led 18-9. Addie Murphy scored seven of the Lady Vikings with 19 points in the first quarter.

The second quarter was the best North Posey played in this game. The Lady Vikings outscored the Warriors 19-7 in the second period to extend their advantage up to 37-16 at the halftime break. Leading the way in the first half for North Posey was Addie Murphy with ten points and Jaz Ward with nine points.

Despite being down by a big margin, Harrison refused to back down in this matchup. The Lady Warriors outscored North Posey 15-14 in the third quarter to cut the Lady Viking advantage to 51-31. “One of the things that comes from going through a gauntlet of big games like we had toward the end of 2025,” North Posey coach Kevin Kolb said. “Even though they were tough losses, they exposed some things we need to work on. We took some time off over Christmas and then had 4 good days of practice after Washington. I think we did a good job of being tough with the ball, snapping our passes, and being ready to score.”

In the fourth quarter, Harrison played their best, scoring twenty points in the final eight minutes of the game, plus holding North Posey to just ten points for the period. North Posey would not allow Harrison to put the game within a single digit margin. The Lady Vikings walked away with a ten-point victory over the Lady Warriors.

With the win, North Posey improved their season record to nine wins and seven losses. Harrison’s season record fell to six wins and nine losses. Jaz Ward led the Lady Vikings by scoring 14 points. Addie Murphy scored 12 points, Ella Weatherholt with 11 points, Chloe Kirchoff with nine points, and Kyleigh Bender with eight points. Kirchoff was a perfect three for three from the three-point arc and scored a career-high on varsity.

This was fifth game played without leading scorer Elle Jo Johnson out with concussion protocol. “We did an excellent job of executing on things we have spoken about, understanding our roles, and attacking the basket,” Kolb said. “Playing without Elle has forced others to expand their roles. Hopefully, she will be back in the next couple of weeks. She’s working through the process and once cleared she will be pushed at practice before fully returning. I might add, her role in our basketball program didn’t stop when she got injured. She continued to coach the fifth-grade team that placed second in their most recent tournament.”

Monday, January 5, 2026, at Harrison High School (Evansville)

North Posey 18 19 14 10 — 61

Ev. Harrison 9 7 15 20 — 51

NORTH POSEY (61): M. Luigs 1 0-0 3, E. Weatherholt 5 1-2 11, A. Murphy 3 4-4 12, J. Ward 4 6-8 14, K. Bender 4 0-0 8, K. Seibert 1 0-0 2, C. Kirchoff 3 0-0 9, T. Wilson 0 0-0 0, T. Reich 0 2-2 2.

HARRISON (51): A. Sterling 0 0-2 0, E. Butler 8 5-6 22, L. Farrow 0 2-2 2, J. Farmer 4 3-3 12, A. Jones 0 1-2 1, R. Cordray 3 8-11 14, K. Holdman 0 0-0 0, M. Mumford 0 0-0 0.

3-point field goals: North Posey 6 (C. Kirchoff 3, A. Murphy 2, M. Luigs 1), Harrison 2 (E. Butler 1, J. Farmer 1); Free Throws: North Posey 13-16, Harrison 19-27; Total Fouls: North Posey 20, Harrison 17; Fouled Out: North Posey 0, Harrison 1 (A. Sterling).

Last Thursday night, the Lady Vikings went back on the road for their third consecutive away game since the Toyota Tournament. This game was a trip to Lynnville to take on the Tecumseh Braves. North Posey dominated this contest to cruise to a 62-27 win over Tecumseh.

In the first quarter, Tecumseh gained the lead at 3-2 on a three-point basket from Violet Melton to put the Braves on top. Then North Posey set the tone of the game, going on a 21-3 scoring run to close out the first quarter with a 23-6 advantage. Jaz Ward scored 11 of the Vikings 23 points in the first quarter.

North Posey continued to put pressure on Tecumseh in the second quarter by forcing the Braves to commit numerous turnovers. The Lady Vikings built their lead above twenty points, going into the halftime break. After two quarters of play, North Posey led 38-16.

Baskets were going through the hoop in the third quarter. North Posey made four three-point baskets in the third period which helped them extend their lead to 59-23. Midway through the third quarter, there was a running clock for the remainder of the game. The Lady Vikings led 60-24 at the end of the third quarter.

Everyone on the North Posey bench received playing time during this matchup. Nearly everyone on the North Posey team scored points in this win. The fourth quarter moved along fast and very few points were scored in the last eight minutes of the game. Tecumseh outscored North Posey 3-2 in the fourth quarter. North Posey moved on to win this game by 35 points.

For the season, North Posey improved their record to ten wins and seven losses. Tecumseh’s season record fell to two wins and fourteen losses. The Lady Braves are a very young team playing with seven freshmen on the varsity squad.

Jaz Ward led all scorers with a game-high 13 points. Mallory Luigs and Taylor Reich each scored eight points. Taryn Wilson, Kyleigh Bender, Ella Weatherholt, and Chloe Kirchoff each finished with six points. Addie Murphy with five points, Addi Doubler with three points, and Gabi Cooper with two points.

Thursday, January 8, 2026, at Tecumseh High School (Lynnville)

North Posey 23 15 22 2 — 62

Tecumseh 6 10 8 3 — 27

NORTH POSEY (62): M. Luigs 3 0-0 8, E. Weatherholt 2 2-4 6, A. Murphy 2 1-3 5, J. Ward 4 4-6 13, K. Bender 3 0-0 6, K. Seibert 0 0-0 0, C. Kirchoff 2 0-0 6, T. Wilson 2 0-0 6, T. Reich 3 1-3 8, I. Hallam 0 0-0 0, A. Doubler 1 0-0 3, G. Cooper 1 0-1 2.

TECUMSEH (27): V. Melton 3 1-2 9, A. Horn 0 0-2 0, R. Heichelbach 1 0-0 3, H. Lasher 1 2-2 5, H. Melton 1 4-10 6, A. Baize 1 0-0 2, K. Wilson 0 0-0 0, E. Lasher 0 0-0 0, M. King 1 0-0 2, K. Richey 0 0-0 0.

3-point field goals: North Posey 8 (C. Kirchoff 2, T. Wilson 2, M. Luigs 1, T. Reich 1, A. Doubler 1, J. Ward 1), Tecumseh 4 (V. Melton 2, R. Heichelbach 1, H. Lasher 1); Free Throws: North Posey 8-16, Tecumseh 7-14; Total Fouls: North Posey 13, Tecumseh 15; Fouled Out: North Posey 0, Tecumseh 1 (A. Horn).