SHELBY, Ohio — The tears streaming from Kennadie Goth’s eye weren’t shed out of sorrow — or joy, for that matter.
The Shelby Rotary NCO All-Star Classic Most Valuable Player took an inadvertent finger to the right eye late in her team’s 85-72 win in the Senior Game at Shelby High School. The injury didn’t prevent Goth, Shelby’s All-Ohio senior guard, from scoring a game-high 18 points and swiping six rebounds for the Black.
“I was going up for a layup and I got hit in the eye,” Goth said. “I tried to go back up, but I couldn’t see anything, so I missed it again.”
Goth and her teammates didn’t miss often during the first half, building a 46-28. Goth had 10 first-half points, while Norwalk St. Paul’s Lauren Lukasko scored eight of her 13 in the opening 20 minutes.
“There was a lot of out there,” Black coach J.R. Wilson of Mansfield Christian said. “We wanted them to go out there and showcase their talent.”
The White team made things interesting in the second half. Trailing by as many as 23 points, Buckeye Central coach Greg Moore’s bunch cut the deficit to six at 76-70. The Black closed on a 9-2 run to seal it.
“I didn’t expect it to be a blowout and it wasn’t. All these girls were picked for a reason,” Goth said. “We knew they would make a run and get back in it.”
Ontario’s Emily Yeager led the White with 14 points. Riverdale’s Sydney Holderman had 12, while Shelby’s Maddi Fidler and Jackie Garrett added 10 and eight, respectively.
“It was a little different going against those two,” Goth said. “We were joking around on the court. I with they had been on my team.”
Ashland’s Katie Kennedy backed Goth and Lukasko with 12 points. Colonel Crawford’s Alexus Burkhart added 11 and Seneca East’s Megan Siesel added 10.
Underclass Showcase: The White team won the Underclass Showcase 91-84 behind 20 points and six 3-pointers from MVP Abigail Fogle of Upper Sandusky. Mansfield Senior’s Talayzha Catchings had 17 points, while Bellevue’s Peyton Vogel had 12 points and seven rebounds and St. Joseph Central Catholic’s Adrienne Wehring had a dozen.
Carey’s Sydney Kin led the Black with 18 points. Olivia Howard (Sandusky Perkins), Kaelyn Harkness (Norwalk) and Maddie Brisendine (Tiffin Columbian) each had 10
3-Point Shootout: Ontario’s Yeager connected on 20 3-pointers to win the 3-point shooting contest. Upper Sandusky’s Fogle, last year’s winner, was second with 14.
Skills Challenge: Sandusky’s Erin Sherman teamed with Ontario’s Trey Jordan to win the skills competition. The duo finished the course in 45.7 seconds.
Dunk Contest: Shelby’s Uriah Gieseler won the dunk contest at halftime of the senior game.
