It may have happened suddenly, but the girls basketball team from Brandenburg may have lost a game last Friday afternoon, but they certainly didn’t leave empty handed as they not only left a major mark not only on the floor with their competitive play, but also bringing a record crowd for the KHSAA Girls state Tournament since it was brought to Rupp Arena.
Meade County knew that to pull another big win they would have to not follow the script which they did against Boyd County in their first round game in which they fell behind by as much as 18 points in the first half, but against a Bullitt East team which they had faced earlier in the regular season, it became evident that was going to be the case as they struggled against the Lady Chargers defense and had to dig themselves out of a 37-22 halftime hole on the way towards a 62-47 defeat.
After taking a quick 2-0 lead on Peyton Bradley’s layup, the Lady Chargers went on a 20-7 run to close out the first quarter and only a buzzer beater three pointer by Sage Crawley made it a little respectable. Gracie Merkle played a big part of that with 7-points and two blocks. In the second quarter, she poured in 11-points
Bullitt East senior post Merkle was a major thorn in the Lady Waves side as she finished with 34-points, was 14-of-18 from the field and 6-of-13 from the free throw line. Head coach Dina Hackert simply had no answer for her and with their biggest player being 5-10, there were plenty of mismatches on the defensive side.
The Green Wave tried answering back with jumpers by Bradley, Crawley and Audrey Hardesty, but the Lady Chargers had their offensive machine in gear and despite Bradley’s three late in the second quarter, they still trailed by 17 at 37-20.
Trailing 46-31, the Green Wave tried answering back again when they went on a mini run scoring seven points (5-on FT’s), but Merkle’s two layups nearly cancelled that out. After that, Meade County tired staying even, but eventually Bullitt East ended their magical run, 62-47.
Bradley ended the game with 14-points with Crawley at 12-points and Hardesty with 9.
Still, it was a Dream Season for the Lady Wave, who not only took themselves on a magical mystery tour, but the entire city of Brandenburg who showed up to populate Lexington, Ky for at least just one more afternoon in the KHSAA Girls State Tournament and for coach Hackert, who has been there before, it must have felt like reliving a dream with all the pitfalls and emotional swings and don’t count this team out next year if they are ready to repeat and punch another ticket to the Big Dance.
