Monroe slams door early on Metcalfe, Russell edges South Warren in overtime to punch Region final tickets

Monroe slams door early on Metcalfe, Russell edges South Warren in overtime to punch Region final tickets Monroe County 65, Metcalfe County 48

 

 Powered by a monster first quarter, Monroe County cruised to the Region 4 title game with a 65-48 win over Metcalfe County.

The Lady Falcons took no time building a big lead over the Lady Hornets, as they exploded out of the gates to take a 24-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, mostly in part to 10 points in the period by senior forward Lauren Hammer and 12 points off of 10 Metcalfe County turnovers.

Shell-shocked, the Lady Hornets (18-16) finally found some offense, outscoring Monroe 14-9 in the second quarter only to trail 33-19 at the half.

It seemed that Metcalfe may have had a comeback in them, as they cut the Lady Falcons’ lead to 44-34 early in the fourth quarter. However, 22 fourth-quarter points, including nine by Ashley Gearlds, helped Monroe pull away to preserve the 65-48 victory.

Reagan Turner led the Lady Falcons (31-2) with 21 points while shooting 8-10 from the free-throw line. Hammer and Ashlee McGeorge netted 12 points apiece.

Miss Kentucky Basketball Finalist Mackenzie Coleman ended her career at Metcalfe County by notching 29 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while shooting 10-14 from the field and 9-9 from the free throw line. Kaylee Harbison added 8 points for the Lady Hornets.

Monroe outscored Metcalfe 25-5 on points off of turnovers as the Lady Hornets turned the basketball over 22 times as opposed to the Lady Falcons’ 12.

Russell County 51, South Warren 49

 

In one of the more exciting games of the 2017 4th Region Tournament, Russell County needed overtime to take the final shot in a shootout with South Warren in a 51-49 win.

In a game that featured nine ties and nine lead changes, turnovers by the Lady Spartans proved to be the difference as they were outscored 12-2 in points off of turnovers.

After falling behind 7-2 early in the contest, the Lady Lakers (25-8) stormed back with an 11-6 run to cut South Warren’s lead to 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.

After trading baskets in the first few minutes of the second quarter, Russell County went on an 11-3 run to take a 29-25 lead at the halftime period, powered by seven points from Jaylen Elmore.

After the Lady Lakers held a 38-36 lead at the end of the first quarter, both teams turned up the defense in the fourth period as South Warren (22-9) outscored Russell 8-6 to tie the game at 44 with 1:48 to go in the game. After a steal and a timeout, Natalie Pierce attempted a game winning look from the top of the paint, but the shot rattled out to send the game to overtime.

With :4.7 remaining in the overtime period and the Lady Lakers holding a 51-49 lead, South Warren’s Amaya Lasley attempted a three from the top of the key that rattled out as time expired.

Russell County was led by senior guard Kaitlyn Coffey, who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebound while shooting 11-13 from the line. Elmore added 12 points for the Lady Lakers, all in the first half.

Junior guard Sarah Dennison led South Warren with 17 points. Lasley added 15 points while shooting just 5-20 from the field.

4th Region Championship Prediction

With the overtime victory, Russell County earned a date with Monroe County in Sunday afternoon’s 4th Region Championship game, which tips at 3:00 at Diddle Arena. Both teams will be seeking their first region title in well over a decade.

With Reagan Turner and her Lady Falcons playing their best basketball when it really matters, it is easy to predict that Monroe is the clear favorite to win the title. Besides, when is Reagan Turner not playing her best basketball anyway?

However, the Lady Lakers of Russell County cannot be overlooked, which showed in Friday night’s matchup with South Warren. Even after suffering a 67-57 loss to this same Monroe County team earlier in the regular season, the Lady Lakers have done their homework and will come prepared to put up a fight.

This should be a fun one.

Clay’s Prediction: Monroe County 72, Russell County 66.