Jim Mashek

BGHS DRUBS DRAGONS, 51-32; SPARTANS BACK IN 4th REGION TOURNAMENT

Chalk held serve in the opening game of the KHSAA 14th District Girls Tournament on Monday night at South Warren High School.

Bowling Green High School, gunning for a fifth consecutive berth in the KHSAA Sweet 16, turned the tables on a gritty South Warren squad, eliminating the Dragons, 51-39, in the opening game of the district tournament. The Lady Purples used balanced scoring and the defensive tenacity of Mighty Mite BGHS point guard NaTaya Wardlow — all 5 feet, 1 inch of her — to reach Thursday’s championship game, while South Warren and Greenwood waited in the wings.

Greenwood, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, played on even terms with Spartans sophomore star McLaine Hudson and South Warren for the bulk of the first half. But South’s Ashley Overbay drilled a 3-point field goal from the left corner in the final moments of the half, pushing the Spartans’ lead to 34-18 at the break, and Greenwood never recovered.

South Warren went on to post an impressive 66-39 victory.

The Lady Gators used Leia Trinh’s dramatic 3-pointer from the left wing in the final seconds last year to eliminate South Warren, 48-45, in last year’s 14th District Tournament as motivation for the third game between the crosstown rivals on Monday night.

“Last year was in the back of our mind,” Hudson said. “We thought about that ‘3’ going up in the air … We were ready to play tonight.”

In the first game, Warren Central — which defeated Bowling Green, 34-31, on February 9 at the BGHS Arena — also was well within striking distance in the third quarter. But Bowling Green took control and outscored the Dragons, 27-15, in the second half, ensuring the Lady Purples’ return to the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament next week at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

“Our defense and rebounding had to be good tonight,” BGHS star forward Katy Smiley said. “We knew we were ready right away … we just had to keep grinding, keep fighting.”

South Warren (13-15 overall) will play host to the Lady Purples (19-10) in the championship game on Thursday, set to tip off at 6 p.m. Both teams will move on to regional competition.

BOWLING GREEN 51, WARREN CENTRAL 32

Warren Central penned the backstory to the opening game earlier this month on the Lady Purples’ home floor. The Dragons slugged out a 34-31 victory over Bowling Green, their first victory over BGHS since 2007.

NaTaya Wardlow, Bowling Green’s starting point guard, missed that game with an illness. But she was ready to pressure the ball as well as distribute it, as Bowling Green pulled away for the decisive victory.

Bowling Green, which lost longtime mainstays Meadow Tisdale and Saniyah Shelton to the college ranks after the 2022-23 season, had lost five of eight games heading into postseason play. But the Lady Purples played with purpose, and confidence, to win going away on Monday evening.

“We did enough to neutralize (Warren Central’s) Briana Faustro near the basket,” Head said, “Defensively, I thought we were really good for most of the game … I’m not dismissing anything from the last game, but we missed NaTaya that night. We got that monster off our back and punched our way to Diddle.”

Bowling Green used balanced scoring and effective defense near the basket to move within one victory of a 20-win season. Senior BGHS guard NaTaija Alexander and teammate Katy Smiley finished with 10 points each as the Lady Purples placed seven girls in the scoring column.

“We really emphasized defense tonight,” senior BGHS guard Ryleigh Campbell said. “When we get three defensive stops in a row, we call it a ‘kill.’ We had a few of those in this game … we’ll be prepared for Thursday night.”

Veteran Warren Central coach Anthony Hickey was quick to give the Lady Purples the credit.

“My hat’s off to Bowling Green,” Hickey said. “We kept grinding, kept fighting … we gave them too many second shots on defense. (Bowling Green) did a good job on (WCHS point guard) Aida (Akhemdova) … We’re going to miss our three seniors (Akhmedova, Faustro and Jaliyah Bailey) …

“Our girls are going to be successful in life.”

Bailey led the Dragons with 12 points and Faustro added eight.

BGHS coach Calvin Head, meanwhile, flashed a big smile when asked about playing for yet another 14th District championship on Thursday night.

“House money,” he said.

SOUTH WARREN 66, GREENWOOD 39

Greenwood picked up some momentum last week with a hard-fought, 50-45 victory over Warren East, but South Warren’s defense was the great equalizer in the second game on Thursday night.

Senior GHS point guard Leia Trinh became the Lady Gators’ all-time career scoring leader earlier this season and soared past the 2,000-point mark in her final two seasons with the program. But South Warren coach Lane Embry had senior guard Abigail Overbay shadow Trinh wherever she went on the court, allowing her teammates to play more aggressively on defense.

Trinh still led the Lady Gators with 14 points, but she had to work for each and every one of them.

“Abigail’s a fighter, she’s a battler,” Embry said. “Defensively, she charged our team tonight … It doesn’t bother her that she doesn’t score that much. We were really pleased with our team’s effort.”

McLaine Hudson, the Spartans’ basketball/softball standout, spent plenty of time at the free-throw line and kept her team on the attack.

Hudson scored a game-high 21 points, while eighth grader Jooniper Strow added 11 points and junior guard Ashley Overbay finished with 10. Eleven South Warren players finished in the scoring column.

First-year Greenwood coach Terrance Williams admitted it was a tough night for his team, all the way around.

“Maybe we played a little tight,” Williams said. “Give the kudos to South Warren, but I’ll take everything. I’m all to blame. I don’t know if we were as prepared, mentally, as we needed to be.

“South Warren did a very good job.”

Greenwood finishes the season at 14-17 overall.