The Connersville Lady Spartan basketball team concluded the 2025-26 season at 21-8 following a 56-41 loss to the Belmont Lady Braves in the Class 3A semi-state final at Logansport on Saturday.
“We went three years ago from not having a winning season in thirteen years, to having three in the last three years and making the semi-state championship,” Connersville Head Coach Shana Williams said. “If that doesn’t speak volumes for these girls, and the work they put in, I don’t know what does.”
This was the Lady Spartans first regional championship since 2001, and the fifth in program history. Connersville claimed their first sectional title since 2013 and the eighteenth in program history. Senior Addison Jones started as a freshman for the 9-15 Lady Spartans in the 2022-23 season. Seniors Ahniyah Bennett and Serenity Pennington joined the starting lineup in Williams’ first season as head Coach, securing Connersville’s first winning season (13-10) since 2015 in 2024.
The Lady Spartans were 15-9 last season before their semi-state run as seniors. Jones, Pennington, and Bennett contributed to 49 wins as a starting backcourt in the last 3 seasons. This senior class helped to collect 58 wins over the last four seasons. Connersville had 59 wins in 8 years prior.
“We came in three years ago with that group knowing it was going to be something special,” Williams said. “We were going to build the team around these seniors, and that’s what we did. They carried us [for] the last three years.”
Jones averaged 10.2 points per game this year and 9.2 ppg in 98 varsity appearances for her career. She had 900 career points at Connersville with 181 made 3-pointers, 277 rebounds, 236 steals, and 212 assists.
Pennington led the Lady Spartans in scoring this season with 12.3 ppg. She had 852 points in 75 varsity games as a starter for 11.4 ppg with 120 3-pointers, 266 rebounds, 233 steals, and 162 assists.
Bennett averaged 11.9 ppg this season and 9.3 ppg for 910 points in 97 varsity appearances for her career. Bennett had 425 rebounds, 265 assists, and 184 steals as a varsity Lady Spartan. Bennett and sophomore Kendyl Bottomley were named to the 2026 Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association All-District Team.
Senior Maddie Harrison had valuable minutes off the bench throughout the season and finished with 47 rebounds, 16 steals, 12 points, and 8 assists. Harrison had 79 rebounds, 49 points, 24 steals, and 14 assists in 52 career varsity appearances. Williams is 49-27 in 3 years as head coach at CHS.
“The numbers we have right now in the younger groups are higher than we’ve ever had them because of these girls,” Williams said. “We were at a home game and there was a line of little girls for high fives. That used to happen when I played. To see the community back these girls, and for the love of Connersville Lady Spartan basketball being back in this community means the world to me. I appreciate everybody coming out and the support we’ve had all year.”
The Lady Spartans advanced to Saturday’s final with a 50-36 win over Fairfield earlier in the day. Three Lady Spartans were in double figures in the semi-final with Bennett contributing 14 points for Connersville. Jones had 12 points with Bottomley collecting 10.
“I have a daughter coming through the program,” Willaims said. “I wanted her to experience what I experienced, and she’s gotten to now. She’s got two more years and the job is not done there. We’ve got a lot of work to do, [and] some big shoes to fill. We’ll start working in April.”
Bennett had 10 points during a 21-9 first quarter run for the Lady Spartans. Pennington had 6 of her 8 points in the first. Connersville led 28-19 at the halftime break and held a 10-point lead at 37-27 heading into the fourth. Junior Kinze Van Meter rounded out the scoring for the Lady Spartans with 6 points.
Belmont opened Saturday’s final with a 13-4 run in the first quarter and held a 7-point lead at 24-17 at halftime. There was a 17-6 foul call differential in favor of Belmont in the final. The Lady Braves were 17-24 from the free throw line in the 15-point Connersville loss. By contrast the Lady Spartans were 1-1 from the line in the final.
Connersville was 203-268 from the line on the season for 75 percent. The Lady Spartans averaged 7-9 in free throw attempts per game on the season. Connersville made 10 plus trips to the line on 12 occasions with a season high of 26 in the sectional final against Delta. Connersville made a season high 17 free throws in the sectional final.
The free throw discrepancy is not a total aberration. Opposing offenses averaged 15-20 from the line in Connersville losses on the season. The Lady Spartans were 2-4 from the line in a 58-46 loss to Greensburg on December 17. The Lady Pirates were 18-29 from the line at that time. Connersville was 5-7 from the line in losses on average for the season. There is a 15-10 foul call differential between Connersville and their opponents in Lady Spartan losses. Greensburg had an 18-4 advantage in foul calls in December.
Belmont solidified their momentum with a 15-6 run to open the second half. Four Lady Braves were in double figures with sophomore Ashley Bleke contributing 16 points to lead all scorers. Sophomore Marianne Bleke had 12 points for Belmont with junior Kate Kitson and sophomore Kaitlyn Barton contributing 10 points each.
Jones led Connersville in scoring in the final with 12 points. Bennett had 10 points with Pennington and Bottomley collecting 9 and 8 points, respectively. Sophomore Hope Hornsby rounded out the Connersville scoring with 2 points. Belmont forced 12 Connersville turnovers and had multiple second chance opportunities off offensive rebounds.
Bottomley and Van Meter are set to return to the Lady Spartan lineup with the 2026-27 season tips next year. Bottomley led the Lady Spartans with 8.3 rebounds and added 11.8 points per game. Van Meter had 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game this year. Juniors Myleigh Perry and Kylie McHenry each had 20 plus varsity appearances off the bench. Sophomore Hope Hornsby had 19 appearances with freshman Isabella Dilk playing in 3 games.
Junior Taylynn Selby saw her first varsity minutes of the season on Saturday following an injury in volleyball that kept her out most of the year. Perry, McHenry, Hornsby, and Dilk led the Lady Spartan junior varsity team to a record of 14-6 on the season. Sophomores Alaylah Ketcham and Hannah Ropp, along with freshmen Peyton Chambers, Shye Evitts, and Teegan Selby are set to return next season.
“We’ll get after it to keep this thing going,” Williams said. “I want four years of winning seasons. As long as I’m here, I want to put my blood, sweat, and tears into this program to make it better. I know the girls will as well.”
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