Jim Mashek

SMILEY’s 3-POINTER TO CLOSE THIRD QUARTER SETS THE STAGE FOR SUPER SOPHS EMMA MACY, MADDIE DAVENPORT

Katy Smiley knew.

She had struggled with her shooting touch, because the South Warren girls basketball team was doing everything it could to deny her in the KHSAA 14th District championship game. Smiley is a versatile senior who has played a major role in Bowling Green’s success over the last three seasons, including last year’s 52-39 upset of Franklin-Simpson High School in the KHSAA’s 4th Region Tournament semifinals at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

The Lady Purples have learned to trust Smiley, in the heat of battle, during the banter in the huddle and certainly when they complete the task at hand.

That’s gonna be the case in a non-district game in November, or a holiday tournament, or certainly the 14th District Tournament, which rotates from one school to the other every year.

This time, they’d play on a memorable Thursday evening in the Bowling Green High School Arena.

This time, Smiley knew she’d be playing her last game, on her home floor, before she moves on to play at Campbellsville University, which competes in the NAIA’s Mid-South Conference, based in Bowling Green. But this was a farewell of sorts, and offense was at a premium for both squads.

So when it was still anybody’s game, in an old-fashioned, defensive ‘struggle’ — the late, great Keith Jackson would have dubbed it a ‘slobberknocker,’ back in the day — the Lady Purples set up for their final possession of the third quarter, the score tied at 23 in a deliberate, half-court affair.

“We knew it was possible that (South Warren) would try to do everything to deny me the ball,” Smiley said. “So I had to be confident, to get the ball to my teammates, like Emma (Macy) and Maddie (Davenport). See it they can make the ‘3,’ if my shot wasn’t falling.

“I just got the ball at the top of the key and looked for my shot. It was great to see it go down. You’ve always got to prove yourself in those situations.”

Smiley’s only field goal of the game, the dramatic 3-point basket as the horn sounded, put Bowling Green in front, 26-23. The Lady Purples would roll with that momentum, getting in a fourth-quarter offensive rhythm that carried Bowling Green to a hard-fought, 43-30 victory over the scrappy Spartans, who finished as the 14th District runner-up for the second consecutive season.

Bowling Green improved to 12-16 overall, but that’s a deceiving record, because the Lady Purples always play a challenging schedule, and they went 11-3 against 4th Region competition. South Warren, meanwhile, lost for the first time in nine games, dropping to 15-14 overall.

“Our girls executed the game plan very well,” South Warren coach Lane Embry said when it was over. “Bowling Green’s so good, defensively … Our girls played hard. You have to give up something, when you play at team with their kind of talent.

“Our team has gotten so much tougher, over the last few weeks of the season.”

Consequently, Bowling Green and South Warren will advance to the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament with little to lose. Franklin-Simpson, Metcalfe County and Barren County loom as the favorites, but that didn’t matter to the Lady Purples in 2024.

They seem to like the underdog role.

“South Warren was the hottest team in our district, going into the postseason,” BGHS head coach Calvin Head said. “They’re a good team. (South junior guard McLaine) Hudson’s a handful. In fact, McLaine’s TWO handfuls. You have to guard her with your whole team.

“We ended up making some open shots, in the fourth quarter. But defense, that’s what gets us here. That’s how you win the close games.”

In the blink of an eye, though, this championship game wasn’t so close.

Bowling Green’s Emma Macy was fouled 54 seconds into the fourth quarter, and the sophomore guard calmly hit two free throws, extending the Lady Purples’ lead to 28-23. The next time Bowling Green got its hands on the ball, Macy drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner, extending the Lady Purples’ margin to seven points.

Then, the floodgates opened.

Macy got the ball on an inside pass to BGHS teammate Aniyah Smith, and the Lady Purples’ center used the glass for another field goal. Bowling Green then had trouble getting the ball to the timeline, prompting a hasty timeout call from Calvin Head with 5:12 left in the game.

The Lady Purples returned to the floor, and this time, Macy hit a 3-point shot from the right corner, extending her team’s lead to 13 points.

Ballgame.

“We definitely wanted to win this game, for our seniors,” Macy said. “We wanted to give them the postseason they deserve.”

South Warren will play Franklin-Simpson, the 25-2 Lady ‘Cats, in its KHSAA 4th Region quarterfinal on Sunday. That game will tip off at Diddle Arena after the tournament’s opening game pitting 15th District champion Barren County (25-5 overall) and Cumberland County (19-7), a game to open tournament play on Sunday afternoon.

Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Lady Purples won’t play again until Monday, when they tangle with Todd County Central (15-13) in quarterfinal play at 6:30 p.m. Then it’ll be time for mighty Metcalfe County (25-5) to square off with Warren East (20-7). the runner-up in the KHSAA’s 15th District.

“(Bowling Green) is probably the best defensive team in our region, maybe this part of the whole state,” South Warren coach Lane Embry said.

The Spartans failed to score in double digits in any of their four quarters against Bowling Green, although they led 8-7 after the first quarter. Little changed before halftime, and it was 14-14 at the break. Defense was the order of the day, on both ends of the floor, and the Lady Purples’ Aniyah Smith, Zara Hall and Kori Ware delivered in that regard.

Until it was time for Emma Macy and Maddie Davenport to start lighting up the scoreboard.

Macy struck for a career-high 21 points, while Davenport hit three 3-pointers to finish with nine. McLaine Hudson and South teammate Jenna Lindsey both finished with a team-high eight points, and the points were certainly hard to come by.

“We’ve been in the gym, we’ve been preparing,” Davenport said. “I had to guard McLaine a lot, so that was one of my biggest assignments all year. We have a close team, and I think that really helps us, in close games.

“We’re ready to go to Western and see what we can do there.”