Jim Mashek

WARREN CENTRAL’s AIDA AKHMEDOVA: ‘MY HEART WAS JUST POUNDING …’

It’s been a long, challenging season for Warren Central High School’s girls basketball team, over the last 2.5 months.

The Lady Dragons took the floor against crosstown rival Bowling Green High School on Friday night, closing their KHSAA 14th District schedule with the weight of a 13-game losing streak on their collective shoulders.

Not only that, the Lady Purples have won four consecutive KHSAA 4th Region Tournament championships, although this has been a transitional year for veteran BGHS coach Calvin Head and his squad. But Warren Central had not defeated Bowling Green since February 6, 2007, when senior WCHS guard Aida Akhmedova was a 2-year-old Turkish immigrant, a little girl and her family finding their way around a new homeland.

Akhmedova and the inspired Lady Dragons slayed a little dragon of their own Friday night, striking for a 34-31 victory over the Lady Purples at the BGHS Arena. Akhmedova wiped out Bowling Green’s last lead with a little more than 90 seconds left in the game, drilling a 3-point field goal from the right wing.

A 3-point field goal that Akhmedova banked off the window.

Money.

“In my head, I called, ‘Bank,'” a smiling Akhmedova said when it was over. “My heart was just pounding. The ball went up, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Just let us have this moment.'”

And the ball went down, through the net.

It was a low-scoring game, start to finish, so Akhmedova’s 3-pointer was critical. The Lady Purples came up empty on their next possession, and Calvin Head had his squad foul Jaliyah Bailey with 29 seconds left in the game. Bailey hit the two free throws, pushing the Warren Central lead to four points, and the Lady Dragons forced a five-seconds call underneath their own basket, which helped complete the task at hand.

Warren Central improved to 4-16 overall, while winning its first district game in six tries. Bowling Green, meanwhile, dropped to 15-7 overall and 4-2 in KHSAA 14th District play. Head’s Lady Purples were back on the road on Saturday morning, however, traveling to Breckenridge County for an 11 a.m. game against North Hardin in the Kentucky Vintage Tees Classic.

Head was gracious in defeat, remaining upbeat about his own squad with about two weeks left in KHSAA regular-season play.

“We’ve just got to be tougher. That was our message to the team,” Head said. “I give all the credit to Warren Central. All the credit in the world. Their kids played hard. They deserved to win.”

Moments after the Lady Dragons’ breakthrough, WCHS coach Anthony Hickey was beaming with pride. After a handful of near misses, and some blowouts, too, the Lady Dragons knocked off their crosstown rival for the first time in 17 years.

“I can’t put it into words. We’ve been trying, we were right there,” Hickey said. “I told the girls, ‘We’ve just got to believe in ourselves. We had to make the tough ‘stops’ at the end.

“My three seniors (Akhmedova, Jaliyah Bailey and Briana Frausto) stepped up, and our role players made plays.”

Bailey led all scorers with 12 points, and Frausto gave the Lady Purples’ defense trouble with her quickness near the basket. Akhemdova had nine points for Warren Central and Frausto finished with eight.

Senior BGHS guard NaTajia Alexander and sophomore Aniyah Smith led the Lady Purples with six points each.

The Lady Dragons held Bowling Green scoreless in the first quarter, while scoring 11 points themselves, and they took a 17-14 lead into the break at halftime. Offense was at a premium in the second half, but Warren Central was equal to the task.

Warren Central is on the road next Friday to play Todd County Central, the first of four games before the district tournament.

“The kids believed in each other,” WCHS coach Anthony Hickey said. “It’s not about me, it’s about these girls. It was their time to shine. All I did was work the sideline and get after the officials … That’s how we’ve gotta play.

“Take good shots, play hard, and we’ll figure the rest out.”