At any point Monday night in their 3rd Region Tournament opener, Owensboro Catholic could have rolled over. They trailed Breckinridge County by 20 early, 15 at halftime, and 9 entering the fourth quarter, yet the Lady Aces persevered through every obstacle.
With the score tied in the last 30 seconds, Catholic’s Katie Hagan made her move to the basket, finishing through contact for a two-point lead. On the ensuing play, Sophia Newby stole the ball from the Lady Tigers’ Elizabeth Grimes, found herself at the line after being immediately fouled, and sank both free throws to ice the game, 49-45.
“In the second half, we ran some plays that we hadn’t run, put some wrinkles in, and actually passed the ball,” Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Michael Robertson said. “We quit dribbling the air out of the ball, and we moved it.”
After taking a quick 4-0 lead to start the game, the Lady Aces quickly found themselves trailing 12-6 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Breckinridge County’s Adelynn Moorman took over the game, drilling four of her five threes.
Finding themselves in a 28-8 hole, Munsey and Mannahan hit a pair of threes to give the Lady Aces a minor spark heading into halftime.
“They were a lot more physical to us in the first half, and we talked about that at halftime,” Robertson said. “Every time we went for a drive, they bumped us, and they were way more physical than we were. They also shot 70% from deep.”
Out of halftime, Owensboro Catholic quickly cut the lead to three behind 10 points from Hagan, who had a game-high 19 points. The junior started the second half with a pair of three throws, before scoring back-to-back layups through contact.
On the verge of tying the game, the Lady Aces lost track of their defenders, leading to Grimes and Rowan Radaszewski drilling a pair of threes to push the lead back to nine.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers were held to six total points, while Hagan, Newby, and Munsey combined for all 19 of their points.
In their previous matchup two weeks ago, Grimes torched the Lady Aces for 25 points, but Monday night, she was held to 12 points, including a scoreless first quarter. Primarily defended by Layla Martin, the junior made life increasingly hard for the Lady Tigers’ star guard.
“I thought Layla Martin did an excellent job on Grimes,” Robertson said. “She was able to keep her out of the paint. Grimes hurt us last time with 25 points. Martin did a great job keeping her out of the paint, frustrating her, and making her work for every basket. Without her defensive intensity and awareness out there, we would never have been in that game, and she was a big part of that comeback.”
Hagan led all scorers with 19 points and added nine rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and one assist. Newby added 13 points, five rebounds, five steals, and two blocks, while Munsey hit a pair of threes to go with her 12 points.
Moorman led the Lady Tigers with 15 points, Grimes added 12 points, and Kenleigh Greenwell was third on the team in scoring with six points.
Awaiting the Lady Aces in the semi-finals of the 3rd Region Tournament is Edmonson County.
“I think our defense has to get better,” Hagan said. “We also need to start off stronger and finish the game.”
Lady Cougars fall to Edmonson County in overtime
Holding onto a three-point lead in the last 20 seconds, the Lady Cougars were unable to close out on Addison Spainhoward in time, who drilled a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
In the extra period, McLean County ran out of steam, falling to Edmonson County 53-43 and bowing out of the 3rd Region Tournament in the opening round.
“I just think we are a very young team, and we made some mistakes there late,” McLean County Head Coach Eli Ellis said. “We had some missed bunnies at the rim, a couple missed free throws, and some turnovers.”
Behind Anna Miller and Ella Larkin combining for seven points, the Lady Cougars finished the opening quarter trailing by one. After only scoring one point in the first eight minutes, Karlee Floyd led the way for McLean County in the second quarter, scoring six of her team-high 13 points.
Leading 24-22 at halftime, McLean County pushed its lead to seven in the fourth quarter, but Edmonson County refused to go away. Cariann Williams dominated the paint down the stretch, scoring nine of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Shelby Sowders and Spainhoward both added 10 points for the Lady Cats, while Hayley Sanders finished with seven points.
Floyd led the Lady Cougars with 13 points, Miller scored 11 points, and Bentley Wagner finished with nine points.
Despite the loss, it was a successful season for the Lady Cougars as they won the 10th District Championship and finished 19-10 on the year. A relatively young team, they are only losing two seniors to graduation in Ragan Brown and Kenadi Level.
“We’re going to miss Ragan on the inside,” Ellis said. We’re going to miss Kenadi with her leadership, ball handling, and guarding outside. I really like that we have a lot coming back.”
