Jim Mashek

PIPER LINDSEY’s TROJANETTES (26-5) TANGLE WITH CAWTHORN, FRANKLIN-SIMPSON (26-2) IN SEMIFINALS ON TUESDAY EVENING

Franklin-Simpson High School girls basketball coach Ashley Taylor has done everything she can to prepare her Lady ‘Cats for this place and time.

And, it’s a time and place Franklin-Simpson knows all too well.

The Lady Wildcats entered the KHSAA 4th Region Tournament at this time, last year, as the inside favorite to cut down the nets at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena. Maybe even a prohibitive favorite.

Franklin-Simpson entered the 4th Region with a sparkling 29-1 record, and the Lady ‘Cats buried Allen County-Scottsville in quarterfinal play, rolling to a 60-31 victory. Then came the anticipated matchup with Bowling Green High School, the 4th Region winner for each of the previous four seasons. The Lady Purples might not have had the same firepower, with dynamic duo Saniyah Shelton and Meadow Tisdale having moved on to college basketball, but they were certainly a formidable opponent.

Then they thumped Franklin-Simpson, to the tune of 52-39, and two days later, Bowling Green and veteran coach Calvin Head were on their way back to Lexington’s Rupp Arena for the prestigious KHSAA Sweet Sixteen.

Todd County Central had no chance against the Lady Purples, who throttled the Lady Rebels, 49-35.

Franklin-Simpson opened this year’s KHSAA 4th Region Tournament with a nearby rival, South Warren High School, which won eight consecutive games to reach last week’s 14th District Tournament title tilt against Bowling Green. The Spartans would fade, in the fourth quarter, dropping a 43-30 decision. Three nights later, they’d take the court against Taylor’s Lady ‘Cats.

Franklin-Simpson, with 25 wins under its collective belt, and the two-time 4th Region Player of the Year in 6-foot senior forward/center Lareesha Cawthorn. The great equalizer near the basket.

It was too much of a daunting task for the Spartans.

Cawthorn and Co. shut things down in the paint, limiting South Warren to just six points each in the first and second quarters, and the Lady ‘Cats rolled to a 58-33 victory over the Spartans. Cawthorn, the rangy Tennessee Tech signee, did it all for her squad, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, three assists and three steals.

In less than 26 minutes on the floor.

Taylor got all 15 of her Franklin-Simpson players on the court, giving them the experience of playing in a college arena, and the Lady Wildcats could turn their attention to their next opponent, the tradition-rich Barren County Trojanettes.

A team intent on getting back to Sweet 16 themselves.

“We’ve put this team through a gauntlet of a season,” Taylor said in the WKU Paul Just Media Room after Sunday evening’s game. “We’ve played a lot of the top teams in the state. I think we’ve taken our defense to another level.”

Barren County’s Piper Lindsey has taken a similar tack, in putting a difficult schedule together. The Trojanettes (26-5 overall, 18-2 against the 4th Region) have a deep bench, plenty of experience and capable scorers in sophomore guard Shelby Byrd, averaging more than 14 points per game, and senior wing Katie Elmore (9.6 ppg).

Barren County’s Katie Geralds scored 16 points and Elmore added 12 in the first quarterfinal of the 4th Region Tournament on Sunday, sending the Trojanettes to a 59-32 victory over Cumberland County and” into the high-profile matchup with Cawthorn and Franklin-Simpson.

“We’ve got a 1-0 mentality right now,” Lindsey said. “We’ve got a day to work on it, and figure it out. These kids have been a joy to coach.

“We’ve got to stay confident and believe in ourselves.”

BARREN COUNTY 59, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 39

Cumberland coach Kristen Anderson’s Lady Panthers were making their first appearance in the 4th Region Tournament in 10 years, but they trailed the skilled, experienced Trojanettes by just three points at halftime Sunday afternoon.

Barren County withstood one challenge after another, however, and the Trojanette’s steely resolve carried Piper Lindsey’s squad to its 26th victory of the season.

“We can go nine deep, if we need to,” Lindsey said. “We kind of wore them down in the second half.”

Anderson said adjusting to the length of the college court — 94 feet as opposed to the high school standard of 84 feet — was just one of many adjustments her team had to make.

“It makes a difference,” she said. “We’re one of the smallest schools in the region, and we don’t have a senior on this team. So today’s the end of the season, and the start of the next one.”

Gearlds, Barren County’s senior guard, hit all six of her field-goal attempts while leading the Trojanettes with 16 points and seven rebounds. Elmore, who is headed to Campbellsville University on a softball scholarship, added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists as the Trojanettes powered their way into the semifinals.

Barren County’s Ann Ashley Atkinson led her team with nine rebounds in 22 minutes and change on the court, and freshman point guard Addy Slagle added eight points off the bench.

Junior guard Abby Morgan led Cumberland County with 16 points while teammate Madi Cooksey finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

FRANKLIN-SIMPSON 58, SOUTH WARREN 33

South Warren coach Lane Embry knew what his squad was up against, in taking the court against Franklin-Simpson.

“They’re just so athletic, and when they’re engaged defensively, you have to make perfect passes,” Embry said. “Not only that, but you have to protect the dribble, read the (defensive) help, and find the person who is open.

“When you’re in that situation, and you see that athleticism … They’re just really, really, good.”

Cawthorn had her way near the basket, hitting 10 of 16 shots while finishing the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.

“I’m proud of the way we came in and locked down, defensively,” Franklin-Simpson coach Ashley Taylor said.

Franklin-Simpson’s Kloie Smith, a basketball/softball standout and just a junior, did a good job of getting to the free-throw line. Smith had 14 points, seven rebounds and FIVE steals against the Spartans, who had 21 turnovers while shooting just 29.4 percent from the field.

South Warren senior Jenna Lindsey led her team with 12 points, while two-sport star McLaine Hudson, her teammate on the Spartans’ softball team, finished with 11.

Hudson, an all-4th Region selection for the second consecutive season, finished the year averaging a team-high 18 points and six points per game.

Franklin-Simpson coach Ashley Taylor rotated defenders on Hudson and always had a last line of defense in Cawthorn protecting the basket.

“We just tried to keep McLaine off balance,” Taylor said. “When she get’s goin’, they all get goin’ …”

South Warren finishes its season at 15-15.