BOWLING GREEN STARTS FAST AND CRUISES TO 64-41 VICTORY
The Bowling Green High School girls basketball team is about as steady as they come.
The Lady Purples are deep, they’re experienced, they’re versatile, and they’re the KHSAA 14th District Tournament champions.
Again.
Bowling Green scored the game’s first 10 points and never looked back, cruising to a 64-41 victory over upstart South Warren in the 14th District tourney championship game on Thursday evening at Warren Central High School.
The Lady Purples, a Sweet Sixteen quarterfinalist last season, are a businesslike team that likes to have some fun, too. They play hard, they get up and down the floor, and in the final analysis, they could be a team to watch in March.
In Lexington.
But BGHS coach Calvin Head is a cautious one, careful not to get ahead of himself. The Lady Purples (25-7) and South Warren (11-17) learned of their first-round opponents in the KHSAA’s 4th Region Tournament in a draw held Friday morning at Warren East High School.
Junior forward Saniyah Shelton scored a game-high 21 points, and her BGHS teammates Meadow Tisdale and Tanaya Bailey each scored 16 as the Lady Purples built a 39-15 halftime lead before Head freely substituted over the last 16 minutes.
It was a tough road to navigate for the Lady Spartans, as fourth-year South coach Lane Embry acknowledged when it was over.
“They (Bowling Green) start out games really well. That’s a part of who they are,” Embry said. “But I was proud of the way our girls held up and continued to fight even though some things went against them early on. They could’ve folded right up and they didn’t. They played hard.”
That’s a big part of the Lady Purples’ winning formula, too.
“I thought we were really active, early in the game,” Head said. “We wanted to set the tone, early in the game. We wanted to get into the passing lanes, get some easy baskets.
“We’ve got seven seniors. They know their roles, accept their roles. It’s a good group of kids. One game at a time.”
Meadow Tisdale, the 4th Region Player of the Year, seems to be listening.
“We’re trying to make history,” Tisdale said. “We hoping to get three gold trophies, one at a time.”
That’s district, regional and state championship trophies, in case you’re wondering.
The BGHS boys team, which tangles with crosstown rival Warren Central in its 14th District title game on Friday evening, turned out to support their counterparts.
McLaine Hudson led South Warren with eight points while Lady Spartans Kiah Mitchell and Gracie Hodges each finished with seven. South Warren will be making its first regional appearance since 2019.
