Val T.
- Feb 3
- 2 min read

Iverson’s 12 helps Winamac advance past Pioneer

Next up: vs. Lewis Cass, 7 p.m. Saturday in sectional final

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Girls basketball

Winamac 41, Pioneer 27 (Friday): Marissa Iverson scored 12 points, and Winamac hit seven of nine free throws in the fourth quarter to pull away and beat Pioneer in a Class 2A, Sectional 36 semifinal at North Miami Friday.

Maggie Smith made all four of her fourth quarter free throws and added nine. Sadie Popejoy had eight, and Kandace Kroft had seven as Winamac improved to 14-9.

Winamac also made more free throws (12) than Pioneer attempted (8).

Winamac will next face Lewis Cass in the final. The No. 12 Lady Kings eliminated North Miami 35-34 in the first semifinal.

Freshman Lois Layer hit three 3-pointers and scored a career-high 15 for Pioneer, who finished 6-16. Layer did not score in the regular season meeting between the teams, a 52-29 Winamac win on Jan. 23.

Makenna Strycker and Mia McKaig, Pioneer’s top two scorers on the season, were held to six points combined.

PIONEER (27) (7-15)

Makenna Strycker 0 0-4 0, Mia McKaig 2 1-2 6, Lois Layer 6 0-0 15, Kynzie Hathaway 0 0-0 0, Gracie Hopper 1 0-0 2, Casey Webb 0 0-0 0, Julia McGrew 0 0-0 0, Jocelyn Kain 1 2-2 4, Hannah Zeigler 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 10 3-8 27

WINAMAC (41) (14-9)

Maggie Smith 2 4-4 9, Kandace Kroft 3 0-0 7, Sadie Popejoy 2 3-3 8, Piper Link 2 1-1 5, Marissa Iverson 4 4-8 12, Brody Goodman 0 0-0 0, Lily Bennett 0 0-0 0, Mershai Loehmer 0 0-0 0, Kaelyn O’Connor 0 0-0 0, Corinne Ulerick 0 0-0 0

TEAM: 13 12-16 41

Three-point field goals:

Pioneer 4 (Layer 3, McKaig),

Winamac 3 (Popejoy, Kroft, Smith)

Total fouls: Pioneer 15, Winamac 11

Turnovers: Pioneer 14, Winamac 10

Score by quarters

Pioneer 6 7 8 6 – 27