The monkey is finally off South Warren’s back.
The Spartans, who haven’t been able to make it to the Region 4 Tournament championship since becoming a program in 2010, will be playing for their first regional title – and a chance to earn a trip to the 2018 St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls’ Sweet Sixteen – on Saturday night.
“I’m happy for these young ladies here,” South Warren coach Blane Emby said. “I’m just tickled to death for this group for them to get to the finals and hopefully turn it loose tomorrow night and get something done then, too. I felt we executed just like we needed to.”
South Warren (31-3 overall) was able to turn its dream into a reality after winning 63-46 over Glasgow in the semifinals on Friday evening at Western Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Spartans led 18-10 after the opening quarter and were up 39-23 at halftime before remaining in control throughout the second half. South Warren finished with three different players in double figures and shot 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) from the field.
“It feels really good,” senior guard Amaya Lasley said. “I’ve been in this position – and we always lose this game. I’m glad I get to do it with these guys and actually go to the region championship game tomorrow. We’ve worked hard, so hopefully we bring it tomorrow.”
Lasley led the Spartans with a game-high 17 points, while Natalie Pierce finished with 16 and Sarah Dennison recorded a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds. Defensively, the Spartans forced the Lady Scotties into 17 turnovers and just 31.1 percent shooting on the night.
South will meet District 14 rival Bowling Green (19-12), which beat Logan County 72-39, at 6 p.m. Saturday in the title match.
“You just don’t know what a quality group this is off the court,” Embry said of his senior core that includes Lasley, Dennison, Peyton Ferry, Jordan McDonald and Ashley White. “Forget the basketball, forget all the records they’ve set … this is just a great senior class.”
The two sides played a competitive opening quarter.
South Warren scored the first five points of the game and later built a 10-4 lead at the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, but Glasgow answered and cut its deficit to 12-8 near the four-minute mark.
Pierce made a three-pointer – and McDonald scored inside – to give the Spartans an 18-10 lead at the end of one.
From there, it was all South Warren.
“A lot of credit goes to South Warren,” Glasgow coach Justin Stinson said. “They came in as a really outstanding basketball team. We got off to kind of a rough start, and it’s hard to play from behind against a team that good. “They’re and outstanding basketball team with a lot of offensive weapons.”
South opened the second quarter with a momentum-swinging 10-0 run to push its advantage to 28-10 at the 5:21 mark. Glasgow scored five straight to climb back to within 12 at 30-18, but the Spartans used back-to-back threes by Dennison and Brooke Stevenson to go up 36-18.
Another three by the Spartans – this one from Pierce – sent South Warren into the locker room at halftime leading 39-23. The Spartans shot 15-of-30 (50 percent) from the floor in the opening half as Lasley had 13 points and Pierce had scored 11.
“I always tell them, ‘If you’re gonna shoot it, shoot it,’” Embry said. “Let the thing go. We sort of hang our hat on that. We’re not going to change anything at this point; we’ll come out here and start shooting them again tomorrow night. It just opens the court up a little bit.”
Glasgow (22-10), which shot 36 percent in the first half and committed 12 turnovers, were being led by Ashanti Gore’s seven points at the break. She finished with 12 and six rebounds to carry the Lady Scotties, while Anzley Adwell added 10.
Despite not playing with as much energy as it had over the course of the first two periods, South Warren continued to stay in control throughout the second half.
“I admire Glasgow. I applaud them because I just thought they kept bringing it at us,” Embry said. “They’ve definitely improve since the last time we played them. Again, I told these ladies that they’ve worked too hard not to get past this game right here.”
The Spartans only scored 11 points in the third quarter but still led 47-27 at the 3:27 mark after a score inside by Lexi Button. Hale’s jumper cut Glasgow’s deficit to 47-32 with under a minute remaining in the period, but another three by Pierce put South Warren up 50-32 entering the fourth.
Taking advantage of their double-digit lead, the Spartans were able to cruise through the final eight minutes to set up Saturday’s title showdown with Bowling Green.
“We’re really, really excited,” said Embry. “I’m really excited for them to get in tomorrow night because this is the first time for our program. Bowling Green has been here several times and they know the ropes a little bit. This will be a different feeling. There’s just nothing like it.
“We look forward to the challenge tomorrow night.”
–Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TMansfieldST.–
