NON-LEAGUE ACTION … North Central’s Addie Burger takes the ball to the basket in the Eagles’ 44-17 win at Swanton.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
SWANTON GUARD … Lauren Bettinger drives between a pair of Eagle defenders in the first half.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
SWANTON (January 13, 2026) – After a tight first half, the Eagles of North Central pulled away in convincing fashion to defeat the Bulldogs, 44-17.
The teams traded leads with Bulldog senior Carli Lagrange putting in a free throw and basket. Another basket for Swanton and two for North Central wrapped up scoring for the first quarter, which ended with a struggle over the ball, setting a theme of physicality that would surface throughout the game.
After a layup from Eagles senior Cailyn Meyers, senior Addyson Turner stole a pass and was fouled while shooting, making one of her two free throws, which Meyers rebounded for a basket to bring their lead to 11-5.
A failed shooting spree by the Bulldogs led to a foul on North Central and a Swanton free throw before junior Lexie Yeager put in a trey to narrow the Eagles’ lead to 11-9.
A swift back-and-forth including a North Central three from Turner brought the score to 14-12. The majority of the remaining time in the period was taken up by a back-and-forth which saw a stolen ball and several physical struggles over the ball.
The Eagles came out of halftime a team possessed, going on a 22-point run that lasted the entire third period and half of the fourth. Four players took part in the scoring, with junior Mallory Groves putting in a three followed by a basket followed by another three.
A pair of treys from senior Tessa Reyome and a free throw from Turner ended the North Central run. Swanton mustered a basket from Lagrange before Yeager made the team’s last point with a free throw.
Physical struggles over the ball continued with another Bulldog catching a foul before sophomore Mia Lawson put in back-to-back threes to bring the final score to 44-17.
NORTH CENTRAL (44) – Myers 4; Burt 2; Groves 10; Reyome 7; Turner 2; Lawson 17; Gruber 0; Amos 0; Smith 0; Burger 2; Totals 8-8-4 – 44
SWANTON (17) – Yeager 8; Hamrick 0; Pelland 0; Rominski 0; Bettinger 1; Lagrange 7; LaPoint 0; Ventimiglia 2; Totals 4-2-3 – 17
NCHS 6 10 15 13 – 44
SHS 5 7 0 5 – 17