By Jim Mashek – Sporting Times
Photos by Marlow Hazard – Sporting Times
Bowling Green High School’s Kiyah Gray stands about 4 foot, 11 inches tall and tips the scale a little south of 110 pounds.
But she’s as fearless as they come on drives to the basket.
Gray scored 14 points, usually while challenged by Greenwood’s front-court players, to spark Bowling Green to a 50-45 victory over the gritty Lady Gators in the KHSAA 14th District championship game on Friday night at BGHS.
Bowling Green (15-8) survived Greenwood’s upset bid with Meadow Tisdale and LynKaylah James shutting down the Lady Gators’ inside game. But Greenwood (12-7) put up a valiant effort in defeat, and the Lady Gators will move on to the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament starting on Thursday.
“We had some untimely turnovers tonight,” Greenwood coach Zach Simpson said. “Against a team like Bowling Green, you can’t give them extra possessions. But like you saw, my girls are going to give us everything they’ve got.
“We got caught in a couple overload situations, defensively, late in the game. I don’t like moral victories but is a game we can build on.”
Ask BGHS coach Calvin Head about Gray, his blur in the backcourt sporting No. 5 for the Lady Purples, and he’s quick to break into a wide smile.
“Kiyah’s one of our three seniors, and she came back from an ACL last season,” Head said. “It’s so rewarding, to see her success. She’s feisty and tough. She’s really our defensive juggernaut.”
Tisdale, the Lady Purples’ sturdy sophomore center, said Gray’s breakthrough performance came as no surprise to the BGHS bench.
“You put it in her hands, she’s gonna take it to the basket,” Tisdale said. “We’re trying to get three gold trophies, and the regional is next. That’s our goal. One game at a time.”
James hit one of the game’s key field goals, a 3-pointer at the top of the key to push the BGHS lead to eight points midway through the fourth quarter. It was a similar turning point to last year’s Fourth Region championship game against Barren County, a 58-48 victory at E.A. Diddle Arena.
“They kind of dared me to shoot, and I took the shot,” James said with a smile.
James and Janiya Bailey each had 11 points for Bowling Green, and Tanaya Bailey finished with eight.
Freshman point guard Leia Trinh showed a deft shooting touch from 3-point range and led the Lady Gators with 19 points. Teammate Jacqueline Jackson finished with 16.
