GREENCASTLE GIRLS' BASKETBALL REGIONAL: North Central rallies in second half to beat Bethesda Christian to first regional crown

One of Bethesda Christian and North Central was walking out of McAnally Center with a piece of school history Saturday night at the IHSAA Girls’ Basketball Greencastle Regional.

While both schools had several sectional titles to their name, neither had been able to crest the wave at the regional level but with the changes instituted last year, one team was going to rectify that deficit.

For a time, it seemed there was little that North Central could do to stop the rampaging Kenzie Fulks, who scored 20 points in the first half and 14-straight for Bethesda Christian at one point.

The Patriots got out to a 13-point lead early in the second half and seemed like they were cruising towards a semistate berth.

But the Thunderbirds finally got a couple of shots to drop. Then three in-a-row from deep.

Soon, the 13-point lead was gone and it became a race to the finish, one North Central won at the free throw line, sinking 12-of-14 attempts in the final quarter to win a wild dual against Bethesda Christian 55-50.

The two teams had prior postseason history as the Thunderbirds had denied the Patriots a chance to play for a regional title in 2020, only to fall short against Greenwood Christian in the final.

North Central’s path had been blocked by Bloomfield since then but Shakamak removed the barrier before being eliminated by the Thunderbirds in the sectional final.

Bethesda Christian, meanwhile, had won five-straight sectional titles but fell short of a title to Waldron in 2022 and Jac-Cen-Del a year ago.

Fulks opened the scoring right from the tipoff with a layoff but North Central got going with a pair of early putbacks from Shelby Seay and Samatha Secrest around a basket from Jalyn Davidson.

Sydney Goodin hit a jumper and Fulks scored at the rim to tie the game at 6-6 before threes from Magdala Scott and Davidson helped push the Thunderbirds in front 14-8.

Fulks then took total control of the game.

The senior guard notched a jumper and a three to close out the first quarter, leaving Bethesda Christian trailing by a point, before hitting a three at the start of the second quarter.

Seay hit one in reply but Fulks continued to shred the North Central defense, driving at will with little to oppose her as she scored the next six points to give the Patriots a 22-17 lead.

Secrest scored to break the mini run but a Goodin basket and a final Fulks jumper saw Bethesda Christian enter halftime with a 26-19 lead.

Goodin and Fulks continued where they left off to start the second half, the former scoring five points and the latter adding a basket as the Patriots’ lead reached its apex at 33-20.

Davidson finally got a jumper to fall with 3:10 left in the third quarter before Lilli Gaines hit a three to cut the lead to eight.

Goodin scored twice more but another Davidson jumper was followed by two Secrest free throws and a three by Kimber Ladson as North Central trimmed the gap to 37-32 entering the final period of play.

Fulks, who was now being eyed by anyone and everyone in green when in possession, was able to keep the Bethesda Christian offense going with a floater and a three-point play but Ladson hit another triple and Davidson hit two free throws in between as the lead went down to a single possession.

Gaines scored on the inside and Davidson, who was now in full flow, added a basket to make it a 42-40 contest.

Fulks hit 1-of-2 at the line and while the Thunderbirds didn’t score to follow up, the defensive intensity finally caught up to Bethesda Christian.

Seay stole a pass and dealt it to Davidson to make it a one-point game before the latter sank a jumper to give North Central its first lead since 17-16 with 2:35 to play.

A repeat of a Seay steal and assist to Davidson made it 46-43 before Goodin scored inside to cut the gap to one, adding a free throw on the next trip to tie the game at 46-46.

Davidson hit two free throws and Fulks missed a three on the other end; though Bethesda Christian got the offensive rebound, the following pass found Seay instead, who was fouled and hit two free throws.

Jayla Ferguson scored on the inside but Davidson was clutch in the final seconds, hitting all four of her free throw attempts inside the final 30 seconds to ensure the regional trophy headed west to Farmersburg.

Scoring

North Central (10-14 2FG; 6-19 3FG; 17=20 FT) — Davidson 25, Secrest 9, Seay 7, Ladson 6, Gaines 5, Scott 3

Bethesda Christian (18-32 2FG; 2-10 3FG; 8-14 FT) — Fulks 30, Goodin 16, Ferguson 4

Statistics