NORTH JUDSON, IN. - LaVille head girls basketball coach Nicholas Amor knew both his Lancer squad and South Central were different teams. Both teams met on November 5, nearly three months ago, in Union Mills for an early-season game. Amor's club won that one 42-39 to upset the then-2A No. 10 Satellites. "Both teams are very different," Amor said when asked about the Satellites. "South Central has really shown what they can do. South Central will attack the basket. They run a five-out offense and try to attack hard, middle and they have a couple of shooters in #44 (Kate Welsh) and #40 (Olivia Marks). We have to close out hard, but keep them out of the middle. We have to keep them out of the paint and force them middle to our helpside and rebound well." Saturday's 2A Sectional #34 championship game at North Judson-San Pierre High School was set up to be a battle. Two teams with some offensive firepower and scrappy hard-nosed defense. LaVille came in allowing 31.9 points per outing, 15th best in the state, while South Central gave up 34.4 per game, 25th best in the state. And both teams had the threat of 3-point shooters. The ultimate deciding factor, however, may have been in state tournament experience. South Central has won the last two of three sectional championships, to go with a regional title in 2020. LaVille came in seeking its first sectional crown since 2003. Some timely free throw shooting and a couple of crucial 3-pointers helped South Central defeat LaVille, 52-40, in a game that does not reflect the final score. After trailing for three quarters, the Lancers finally pulled even at 28-28 with 6:29 left in the fourth quarter. That tie lasted just a few seconds as Hope Welsh came down and swished a 3-pointer from the left wing, then dropped another trey with 4:55 left to boost the South Central lead to 34-28. LaVille's Lily Smith dropped two bombs from beyond the arc to keep LHS close at 38-36 at the 2:55 mark. However, Satellite forward Sadie Marks connected an and-one following a timeout to send the lead back to five points, 41-36. The game then took a strange twist as LaVille's Heaylyn Kwiatkowski and South Central's Olivia Marks got tangled. Marks was whistled for a technical foul. Kwiatkowski split her first two free throws, then missed two more for the technical as the Satellites kept the lead, 41-37 at the 2:33 mark. Tolmen found an open drive to the basket that stretched the SC lead to 43-37 with 1:44 left. Coach Ben Anderson's squad canned nine of 10 over the final minute-and-a-half to advance to the Winamac Regional. "The key components to the game was the aggressiveness of South Central's defense," said Amor. "We turned the ball over more than we would've liked and struggled with their press to start. Once we were able to get the ball to the middle and break it, we struggled to capitalize in those moments. Credit to the girls, even though we didn't play the game to the best of our ability, they did find a way to stay in it." The Satellites (23-3) will face Central Noble (24-2) for a shot at a trip to the semi-state. Heaylyn Kwiatkowski finished her career with a double-double after scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Smith had four big 3's to add 12 points. Lucy Sherk added seven points and seven boards, while Brooke Edison chipped in with five points and five rebounds. "Lily stepped up and hit some big shots and Heaylyn continued to be our floor general," noted Amor. "As I've said all throughout the season, it was a great group of girls to walk into for my first year. The credit goes to the girls they wanted to be better, they wanted to become winners, and they had goals they wanted to accomplish. They did it! " Amor's club will graduate Heaylyn Kwiatkowski, Lauren Edison, Lucy Sherk, and Quincy Blodgett. "As for my seniors, they set a foundation for the program that we can now build off of," explained Amor. "All four of them played an intricate role in moving us forward for the future and the success we had in the present. The seniors will truly be missed, and I am so proud of the players that they have become." LaVille finished a fine season at 19-7, TCU Bi-County champions, and advanced to the sectional championship in Nicholas Amor's first season. CLASS 2A SECTIONAL #34 Championship At North Judson-San Pierre South Central 52, LaVille 40 Score By Quarters South Central 12 18 28 52 LaVille 7 15 25 40 South Central - Samantha Marks 3, Sadie Marks 5, Hope Welsh 14, Lillian Tolmen 9, Olivia Marks 18, Kate Welsh 5. Totals: 17 14-22 52 LaVille - Lily Smith 12, Heaylyn Kwiatkowski 13, Ava Weil 0, Brooke Edison 5, Mikalah Kuskye 1, Lauren Edison 0, London Kwiatkowski 2, Lucy Sherk 7, Quincy Blodgett 0. Totals: 16 4-13 40 3-point field goals: South Central 5 (H. Welsh 4, O. Marks), LaVille 4 (Smith 4) Total fouls (fouled out): South Central 17 (Sadie Marks), LaVille 22 (B. Edison)