Portageville Lady Bulldogs drop to Kennett; advance to Third Place bracket

Last Friday, it was trully a sibling rivalry. The Kennett Lady Indians basketball team defeated the Portageville Lady Dogs in a game that pitted sibling coaches against one another. Kennett earned their spot in the final of the Bulldog Classic, while Portageville moved to the Third Place bracket.

"It was a different experience; a lot of added pressure, a little bit of nerves," said Kennett's head coach Jordan Penn after the game. "I just hope I get a Christmas present."

Portageville's girls basketball team is led by Penn's sister, Kellye Fowler. Their mother, Susan Penn, works as Kellye's assistant coach.

The Lady Bulldogs proved to be a tough opponent for the Lady Indians, as Kennett struggled to develop a passing game against a strong defense. Portageville also earned several rebounds over Kennett, and the Lady Bulldogs capitalized on several second chance points.

Portageville was leading at halftime, as the Lady Indians entered the locker room to regroup.

"I just went in and told them 'Hey, this game is going to be won or lost on rebounds,'" said Penn. "I don't know if we beat them on rebounds. They were bigger than us, but our girls competed a lot better for rebounds in the second half."

In the third quarter, Kennett finally closed the scoring gap. A deflection sent the ball into the hands of Heidi Shetley in the key. Shetley went up for two and got fouled as she made the shot. Kennett lead 33-32 at the end of the third quarter and never looked back.

Portageville still fought to keep the game close throughout the fourth quarter, but Kennett's passing and rebounding improved just enough to keep the Lady Bulldogs at bay. The Lady Indians passed the ball well to eat up over a minute of playing time on their way to victory.

Now, Kennett looks forward to play New Madrid in the final of the girls division. The final will be Penn's third game as head coach Kennett's girls basketball team. Penn joined shortly after Richard Driscoll stepped down as head coach, leaving Penn with just two weeks to get ready for the Bulldog Classic.

"We haven't got to work on fundamentals because, with the two weeks we've had, we've had to get game ready right away," Penn said.

Penn was also quick to praise his sister's program in Portageville. Kellye recently led her junior high team to a conference championship, and she's looking to continue her success with the high school team.

"She's had an opportunity to go home and build a program and she's doing a great job," Penn said. "Those girls are working hard for her. She has a lot of young girls. She's got a good team, and they're going to be strong in the Bootheel Conference."