By Jim Mashek
Bowling Green High School’s girls basketball team had been in Lexington, Kentucky for almost 48 hours when the word came down.
The coronavirus pandemic would lead to drastic measures by state and federal governments, but Bowling Green had waited for two days to square off with Russell Independent School, from the KHSAA’s 16th Region, in the state tournament
The Lady Purples would face Russell in a first-round Sweet Sixteen game at UK’s Rupp Arena, and BGHS coach Calvin Head and his team were headed to Rupp to get a glimpse at a possible second-round opponent.
Then, Head’s cell phone rang.
Then, it was all over. Immediately.
The KHSAA ruled the Sweet Sixteen would be suspended, and it would be cancelled shortly thereafter.
“We were getting ready to get on the bus,” Head said. “The girls were very disappointed. They were tore up.”
Bowling Green got back to the Sweet Sixteen with a hard-fought victory over Barren County in the Fourth Region championship game at E.A. Diddle Arena. Freshman forward Meadow Tisdale and sophomore guard Saniyah Shelton led the Lady Purples to a 58-48 victory, setting off a wild celebration on the Hilltoppers’ court.
Shelton, who limited Barren County’s Elizabeth Bertram to just six points — Bertram had dominated the tournament up to the title game — fired the ball toward the Diddle ceiling as her teammates poured onto the floor.
“Saniyah played a great game, she earned that,” Head said with a laugh. “She did an awesome job.”
Tisdale’s development in the postseason was also a critical factor in the Lady Purples’ success.
The BGHS traveling party had been in Lexington two days when Head learned the Lady Purples would not be playing Russell Independent after all. Rather than rush back to Bowling Green, school officials decided the team would spend the night before getting on the bus and heading home.
“Well, at first we were going to play,” Head said, “and the KHSAA was going to limit who could get in the arena to watch the game. I heard from our athletic director, Coach (D.J.) Sherrill. He told us not to leave, and not to tell the kids, but with social media, the kids started finding out.
“We tried to keep things as normal as possible. We took the kids to Subway to get some lunch.”
When the reality hit the team, Head met individually with most of his players in Lexington. “Our seniors did a remarkable job, trying to console the younger kids,” Head said.
The Lady Purples should be loaded for bear for the 2020-21 season, losing just three seniors — Keyozden Jones, a starting guard, along with Aiayna Gurley and Jamodesty Patterson. Patterson sustained an ACL injury during preseason practice and wasn’t able to play this year for BGHS.
Shelton and Tisdale have emerged as college prospects. Head is enthused about his team’s long-range potential, too.
“It’s hard to get to state,” Head said, “and it seemed like our kids earned it, and it was taken away.
“It was almost like it was a dream.”
