During the press conference after Bethlehem’s 56-49 win over Pikeville in the first round of the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen State Girls Basketball Tournament, coach Jason Clark was asked what his team did differently compared to their earlier loss to the Lady Panthers in the Lady Panther Invitational back in December 30th. “They hit 11-three’s and we didn’t have Leah Macy.”
Without a doubt the return of Macy, one of the top forwards in the state played a huge part in the Banshees’ first State Tournament win at Rupp in nearly three years as she scored 31-points using a variety of spins, inside moves and putbacks as Bethlehem staged a furious rally in the second half after trailing by as many as 11-points in the second quarter.
The Banshees cut into the deficit by the half thanks to Macy’s jumper to make it 32-26. In the third quarter, the Banshees sliced into it even further when Tessa Miles hit the team’s only three to make it 34-29 at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter. Perhaps the biggest play occurred when both teams were chasing down a loose ball on the Bethlehem end of the court.
In the ensuing scrum, a Pikeville player drew a technical foul on Carlie Thurmond with 3:31 left in the quarter. Thurmond hit a free throw to make it 37-36 Banshees as they took their first lead of the second half. Although, Pikeville would reclaim the lead on a jumper by Kyera Thornsbury, Bethlehem went back ahead with two free throws by Tessa Miles. The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the two teams trying to stay close as Pikeville tied it at 44-all with 7:09, but Bethlehem went up by four and although the Lady Panthers cut the lead to 52-49 with 3:14 left, the Banshees hit four free throws to finish the win, 56-49.
Afterwards, Clark was gushing about his defense which outscored Pikeville 30-17 in the second half and the biggest difference was three-point shooting. After hitting six three pointers in the first half, the Banshees adjusted and eventually held them to 6-22 from outside and 0-10 in the second half. Meanwhile, Bethlehem went 1-6 from outside, but quality shooting from Macy (12-19), who also had 17 of the teams 30-rebounds. Tessa Miles finished with 9-points, Carlie Thurmond with 6-points.
Trinity Rowe had finished with 17-points, Thornsbury had 14-points and Kristen Whited with 10-points. Clark had said the team can score points, but their defense struggled of late. Still, the Banshees held three of their last four opponents to under 50-points. Macy gave credit to Kensey Clayton, who is usually locked on the top scorer of every opponent and although she rarely gets much credit did a great job today. So for the first time in since 2021, Bethlehem will play in the Elite Eight. Ironically, the past three teams which beat the Banshees in the KHSAA State Tourney, advanced to the Final. It will be interesting to see just how far this newfound confidence takes them this time.
