It was double trouble for the Metcalfe County Lady Hornets against Logan County on Monday night.
Logan’s twin sister duo of sophomores Paige and Peyton Vanzant poured in a combined 42 points, and the Lady Cougars rode this one-two punch to a 69-57 victory over the Lady Hornets in the first round of the Fourth Region Tournament at E.A. Diddle Arena.
“They’re awesome,” Logan County coach Finley Baird said of the duo. “You can see by the stats. But not only points; That’s not what I’m not talking about. They play great defense, they have great hands, they’re quick, and I think they ignite off of each other.”
Peyton led the team with 25 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range while Paige added 17 on 7-of-8 sniping at the charity stripe. The pair already had 11 apiece at halftime for the Lady Cougars.
Logan County (22-11) opened up with the game’s first six points on back-to-back 3-pointers by Peyton Vanzant before Metcalfe County responded with a 7-0 run that brought to life the crowd from Edmonton. The Lady Hornets ended the first quarter as owners of a 15-13 advantage.
Metcalfe County (10-17) was able to build its lead up to as many as four points in the second quarter, but the Lady Cougars rattled off seven unanswered points to take a six-point lead late in the first half. Shawna Edwards hit two free throws with 42 seconds left in the second quarter to trim Metcalfe County’s deficit down to 33-29 at halftime, but Logan County quickly took control of the game in the second half.
A basket from each of the Vanzants pushed Logan County’s lead to double digits at 42-32 with 4:36 left in the third quarter, and the Lady Hornets were unable to get closer than nine points the rest of the way—the Lady Cougars building their lead up to as many as 16 points with 4:24 left in regulation before holding off a mini-Metcalfe rally late to seal the victory.
Even though his team fell short Metcalfe County coach Josh Hurt was pleased, especially in the fact that the Lady Hornets had made the regional tournament for the third consecutive season.
“I thought we played really hard,” Hurt said. “There was some sloppy play that put us in a bind a bit but you gotta give Logan County a lot of credit. But a lot of people out there didn’t know we would do what we’ve been able to do, and I think our kids deserve a lot of credit for that.”
Kaylee Harbison led Metcalfe County in the loss with 17 points and 11 rebounds while Macy Welch had nine points. Edwards and Marley Edmunds poured in eight points apiece for the Lady Hornets.
If there was one pitfall in the Lady Hornets’ performance, it was in the turnover department. Metcalfe County committed 29 in the loss, but part of the reason for this statistic was the stellar defense that Logan County played.
Logan County will now shift its focus to the semifinals game against Bowling Green on Friday night at 6 p.m.—a team that the Lady Cougars lost by a score of 69-47 back on Feb. 13.
“We faced them one time in the regular season and played good the first half, but we just kind of ran out of gas in the second half,” said Baird, who coached against current Bowling Green coach Calvin Head when he strolled the sidelines for rival Russellville up until this season. “We really believe that these ladies are ready to play hard and get the dub.”
The Lady Cougars and Lady Purples both prefer an up-tempo style of play, and Baird thinks this is something that can work in her team’s favor.
“My young ladies are ready to get after it,” Baird said. “Having played them once we know what we have to do to step up. The big thing is we have to take care of the ball and not get flustered. If we give it, we should be able to take it.”
