Balance Across the Board
February 20-23 – Todd County Central High School
2022 Champion – Franklin-Simpson
Franklin-Simpson cruised to a 65-41 victory over Russellville as Alera Barbee dropped 40 points on the Panthers to lead the Wildcats to consecutive district championships. It was an outstanding tournament for Barbee, who scored 30 points in the district semifinal matchup with Todd County Central.
Last Five Championship Games
2022 – Franklin-Simpson over Russellville
2021 – Franklin-Simpson over Russellville
2020 – Logan County over Russellville
2019 – Logan County over Russellville
2018 – Logan County over Todd County Central
Schedule
Monday, February 20 @ 6:00pm – #1 Franklin-Simpson vs. #4 Russellville
Tuesday, February 21 @ 6:00pm – #2 Logan County vs. #3 Todd County Central
Thursday, February 23 @ 7:00pm – Championship Game
#1 – Franklin-Simpson (17-9)
How they can Win
The Lady Wildcats enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the 4th Region after closing the regular season with 10 wins in their final 11 games. Despite losing All-Region standout Hadley Turner to an ACL tear in mid-January, Franklin has steadied the ship behind outstanding team defense. No team has scored more than 50 points on Ashley Taylor’s club in the ten wins they’ve put together over the course of the last month. Malaya Partinger leads the team in scoring at 10.0 per game, while Katelyn McAlister canned 59 three-pointers in the regular season.
#2 – Logan County (17-12)
How they can Win
Logan County is looking to reach Diddle Arena for the first time since 2020, when it was coming off of three-straight 13th District titles. Gracie Borders has had an All-Region season, averaging 16.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. However, the senior standout missed the final three games of the regular season as the Cougars went 1-2. Nora Epley is the team’s second-leading scorer at 9.8 points per game, hitting 61 three-pointers on the year.
#3 – Todd County Central (13-12)
How they can Win
Sophomore Alexis Taylor has had another strong season on the hardwood, averaging 16.5 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Junior Abby Taylor is the team’s second-leading scorer at 11.9 points per night. The Rebels lost six of their final eight games but are hoping to right the ship against Logan County on Tuesday night. The two teams split their meetings in the regular season as Todd beat Logan 60-47 before dropping the return contest 44-43 in early February. A win over the Cougars would qualify the Rebels for the region tournament for the first time since 2018.
#4 – Russellville (13-14)
How they can Win
Russellville has finished as district runners-up in each of the four last seasons. The Panthers will need to knock off 1-seed Franklin-Simpson to make it five in a row. If any 4-seed can pull an upset it might be Russellville. Coach Orlando Hayden’s club finished 2-4 in district play but three of its losses were by ten points or less (two by three points or less). Sophomore Lareesha Cawthorn is averaging 17.6 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. Her rebounding average places her within the top five statewide. The duo of Cawthorn and senior A’miya Collier (13.9 points per game) give the Panthers a chance to make some noise in the 13th District.
Prediction
Although they were tested over the course of their district slate, I expect Franklin-Simpson to knock off Russellville before defeating Todd County Central to win its third-straight district championship. Across the board, this district feels very even. It would not surprise me to see any of these four teams take home the title; however, my pick is with Coach Taylor and the Wildcats.
Champion – Franklin-Simpson
