In a game that featured 15 lead changes and five ties, Russell County needed the final 20 seconds to knock off Monroe County in a 54-51 thriller to advance to the 2017 St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls Sweet 16.
After giving away a 69-68 squeaker to Metcalfe County in last week’s 16th District Title Game, the Lady Lakers earned two straight upsets to power to their first 4th Region title since 1993 while also being the first team since 2005 to come out of the 16th District to win a region crown.
“I think a lot of people sleep on our District,” said Russell County senior guard Kaitlyn Coffey. “We have a lot of solid players like (Metcalfe’s) Mackenzie Coleman. We have players that aren’t really as flashy as others but some really solid.”
The Lady Lakers began to impose their will early by jumping out to an 8-3 lead with 4:11 to play in the first quarter. However, Monroe (31-3) would storm back to take a 13-12 lead after the opening period.
With the game tied at 17 at the 5:00 mark of the second quarter, Russell would be sent to the line four consecutive times before the Lady Falcons would score another bucket. However, the Lady Lakers left the door wide open for Monroe after going just 3-8 in those four trips to the line.
Holding a 26-24 halftime lead, the Lady Falcons opened the second half with 6-3 run to take a 32-27 lead with 3:18 to go in the third quarter, their largest lead of the afternoon. Russell (26-8) powered back shortly after to cut Monroe’s lead back to 36-35 at the end of the third period.
The Lady Lakers came out hot in the fourth quarter by going on a 10-4 run to take their largest lead of the game at 45-40 with 4:04 to play in the game. Both teams traded buckets from there, with Monroe fighting back to reclaim the lead 51-50 with only 45.7 ticks on the clock.
With 20 seconds remaining, Jaylen Elmore’s put-back under the basket gave Russell the lead for good at 52-51, as Monroe turned the ball over on the next possession and fouled Amelia Ackerman in the process with 4.5 seconds left.
After Ackerman made both of her foul shots, Reagan Turner threw up a desperation heave from the top of the key.
“I was thinking ‘First of all, do not foul’,” said Coffey. “The worst that could happen was to go into overtime. Reagan is a great player and I have seen her make shots like that before. I just thought ‘If it does go in, we still have four more minutes left to play’.”
Nevertheless, Turner’s last second shot rattled out as time expired, leaving the Lady Falcons in complete and utter shock as Russell County fans stormed the court.
“We had a lot of crowd support throughout the whole region tournament,” said Coffey, who was one of three Lady Lakers to be named to the 4th Region All-Tournament Team. “I’m proud of my team and my community and I’m ready to go and make some noise at Northern Kentucky.”
Coffey’s 18 points and 10 rebounds led Russell County while Addison Loy followed up with 13 points for the Lady Lakers.
Reagan Turner netted 19 points in her last game of her stellar Monroe County career. Seniors Kelsey Johnson and Ashlee McGeorge also ended their careers with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
With the victory, Russell County will tangle with No. 9 Franklin County (30-5) in the KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 on Thursday at 12:30 CST at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
“When we lost district, a lot of people lost faith in us,” Coffey said. “That put a chip on our shoulders. We said ‘We know that we’re better than this, and we want to come into the Region Tournament and prove it.”
4th Region All-Tournament Team:
- Keely Morrow – Bowling Green
- Addison Loy – Russell Co.
- Ashley Gearlds – Monroe Co.
- Jordan McDonald – South Warren
- Kelsey Johnson – Monroe Co.
- Jesse Beller – Franklin-Simpson
- Mallory Pedigo – Barren Co.
- Markizijah Mimms – Bowling Green
- Loreal Cheaney – Russellville
- Ashlee McGeorge – Monroe Co.
- LaShaya Carman – Russell Co.
- Deanna Taylor – South Warren
- Mackenzie Coleman – Metcalfe Co.
- Amaya Lasley – South Warren
- Reagan Turner – Monroe Co.
- Kaitlyn Coffey – Russell Co.
4th Region Athlete of the Year: Mackenzie Coleman – Metcalfe Co.
