Logan County opened up the game against Bowling Green strong with a basket by Peyton Vanzant just four seconds into the contest, and the Lady Cougars held a 4-2 advantage early in the first quarter.
But the Lady Purples would quickly take control.
Senior Keely Morrow scored a game-high 23 points, and the Lady Purples were able to run away from Logan County in the first half and punch their ticket to the Region Four Championship Game with a 72-39 victory over the Lady Cougars in the semifinals on Friday evening at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
“This is a very good moment for the program and all the girls involved,” Bowling Green head coach Calvin Head said. “Coming out of the 14th District and being able to reach the region finals is a daunting task when you look at it at the beginning of the year. I’m very proud of these young ladies. They’ve overcome a lot of obstacles and odds throughout the year with injuries and illnesses, and for us to reach this…it feels really good right now.”
Bowling Green (19-12) advanced to the Fourth Region Championship Game for the fifth time in six seasons and the seventh time in the past nine years.
“It kind of alludes to the tradition that was built way before I got here,” Head said. “The girls being able to come in and adapt to my coaching style and me adapt to their playing style…it was a rocky road at the beginning. But they weathered the storm and kept coming and fighting, so for us to do that and continue that tradition was one of my goals when I got hired.”
The Lady Purples quickly erased an early 4-2 deficit by going on a 13-0 run—the scoring spurt finally halted by Peyton Vanzant’s driving basket with 1:27 left in the opening quarter.
A 3-pointer by Morrow extended Bowling Green’s lead to 18-6 with 31 seconds left, and that’s where the score stood after one frame.
Bowling Green continued its dominance in the second quarter by holding the Lady Cougars without a field goal until Sarah Hale’s basket at the 4:05 mark, and the Lady Purples seized a 34-13 lead with 1:43 to go before halftime on a three-point play by Morrow. Bowling Green held a 37-16 lead at the intermission, Morrow having already scored 16 points for the Lady Purples at the point.
The Lady Purples continued to roll in the third quarter, and a 3-pointer by T’Alla Brown gave Bowling Green a 61-26 lead and forced the KHSAA-mandated running clock into effect with 42 seconds left in the frame. The Lady Purples coasted to victory the rest of the way.
Logan County (22-11) was led in the loss by Kennedy Nichols with 14 points while Peyton Vanzant added six. The Lady Purples limited the Vanzant twins to just 10 points after the duo combined for 42 in the Lady Cougars’ 69-57 win over Metcalfe County in the first round on Monday night.
“We knew after watching them play Metcalfe and watching some film that they’re tough,” Head said. “They’re going to be around for a while. I thought we did an excellent job trying to level them off and making it tough for them.”
Morrow topped all Bowling Green scorers with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field while Brown added 16 points and eight rebounds. Taylor Ragland finished with 10 points and four rebounds, and Shalyn Whitson tallied five points and eight rebounds for the Lady Purples.
Bowling Green will now face an ever-to-familiar opponent for the Fourth Region Tournament title on Saturday night: the South Warren Spartans. South advanced to the title game for the first time in school history with a 63-46 victory over Glasgow in the nightcap on Friday night.
The Lady Purples and Spartans have faced off three times this season, with South Warren winning all three meetings. The Spartans took a narrow 63-58 decision at Bowling Green on Jan. 5, but South rolled to a 69-30 victory on its home floor later that same month. South prevailed in the district title game by hanging on for a hard-earned 68-62 victory.
“We’ve played them close twice and in the middle game we were missing a player (Ragland),” Head said. “We feel like when we’re healthy we can compete. They’re really, really good, but we still feel like we can compete and have an opportunity to get a win.”
