Jim Mashek

TROJANETTES TAME RUSSELLVILLE, 41-27; LADY PURPLES DISMANTLE METCALFE, 73-39

The pre-tournament favorites are still around, and they’ll scrap for the KHSAA 4th Region championship on Sunday at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.

The winner of that game, to tip off at 3 p.m. on Sunday, also advances to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen girls tournament, with a first-round game scheduled for Wednesday at Lexington’s Rupp Arena.

The Bowling Green High School girls program, which is looking for an unprecedented fourth consecutive KHSAA 4th Region title, will square off with a familiar opponent on Sunday afternoon at Diddle. Barren County, the last team besides Bowling Green to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, punched its ticket to the championship game with a efficient 41-27 victory over Russellville High School.

The Trojanettes improved to 28-6 overall with the victory, while Russellville finishes its season at 16-15.

Calvin Head’s BGHS squad, meanwhile, is clearly playing its best basketball of the season. Even after losing junior shooting guard Ryleigh Campbell to a torn ACL about a month ago, the Lady Purples have closed ranks and won six straight games. Bowling Green had little trouble with Metcalfe County in the second semifinal on Saturday night, silencing the Lady Hornets 73-39.

First-year Metcalfe County coach Heidi Coleman was certainly impressed.

“They pace themselves,” Coleman said in the postgame press conference. “Bowling Green is conditioned to winning championships. Bowling Green comes into these games with a pace, and a poise. And it’s really admirable.

“We got back, on our heels, against their press … Obviously, their experience is a big factor. There’s a little sense of mystique.”

BARREN COUNTY 41, RUSSELLVILLE 27

Russellville, the 13th District champion, stayed within striking distance for the better part of three quarters on Saturday night.

Then Barren County used an impressive combination of precise passing, strong shot selection and interior defense to turn back the Lady Panthers, 41-27.

Russellville’s Ja’Eda Poindexter drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing — the only 3 the Lady Panthers hit all night — to pull within 30-27 early in the fourth quarter.

Barren County would not allow another single point.

The Trojanettes improved to 28-6 heading into Sunday afternoon’s 4th Region championship game against Bowling Green.

“Defensively, we were much better in the second half,” Barren County coach Piper Lindsey said. “We hate to light fires in them at halftime. We hate to do that.

“They know what to do, but luckily they did kind of tighten up a little bit … (we) did a much better job on the boards.”

Barren County’s Abby Varney scored a game-high 16 points, adding six rebounds and three blocked shots, as the Trojanettes took control in the second half. Teammate Katie Murphy also had a big night, finishing with 11 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists.

Russellville trailed by just two points, 20-18, at halftime, and the Lady Panthers were in position to keep things close early in the fourth quarter. But the Trojanettes’ defense was equal to the task, and Barren County was on its way to the championship game.

The Trojanettes played in three of the previous four regional championship games and ad “vanced to the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen in 2019, so they clearly know the landscape.

“I think it says a lot about these girls,” Lindsey said.

Russellville’s dynamic duo of senior forward A’miyah Collier and sophomore center Lareesha Cawthorn kept the Lady Panthers in the game for the first three quarters. But they had few scoring options after that, with Collier and Cawthorn combining for 22 of Russellville’s 27 points.

Russellville coach Orlando Hayden was critical of the officiating in his postgame press conference, and Collier, who is headed to Central Arkansas on a softball scholarship, was quick to concur.

“We drove the ball in the lane and couldn’t get the calls,” she said.

Hayden allowed that poor free-throw shooting — the Lady Panthers went a dismal 2-of-12 at the line — had been a problem for much of the season. Russellville also had precious little depth, and the Lady Panthers were credited with just two assists for the entire game.

Russellville’s offense consisted mostly of Collier igniting the fast break on the defensive end of the floor and Cawthorn hitting the offensive boards.

Cawthorn led the Lady Panthers with 14 points, 13 rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. Collier was equally productive, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, six steals and three blocks.

Barren County, the KHSAA 15th District champion, extended its winning streak to eight games. Barren County knocked off Bowling Green 48-44 on February 8 in Glasgow, but the Lady Purples were without Meadow Tisdale, the 4th Region Player of the Year, in that game. Tisdale missed three games because of a knee injury in early February.

Barren County’s Abby Varney and Katie Murphy provided the bulk of the scoring punch for the Trojanettes, who knocked off Clinton County 55-30 last Sunday in the 4th Region quarterfinals.

The semifinal with Russellville had been scheduled for Friday night but was postponed because of severe weather, including strong storms and heavy winds, in South Central Kentucky.

“In the second half,” Varney said, “we just wanted to take away their second-chance points.”

“We kind of dared them to shoot outside,” Lindsey said.

That sort of strategy probably wouldn’t work against Bowling Green.

BOWLING GREEN 73, METCALFE COUNTY 39

Bowling Green led wire-to-wire against Metcalfe County in the nightcap on Saturday.

The Lady Purples improved to 23-10 overall, while Metcalfe finished 20-10 under first-year coach Heidi Coleman. The Lady Hornets have a young team, and Coleman won’t be sad to see BGHS seniors Meadow Tisdale and Saniyah Shelton move on to college basketball.

Shelton, the Lady Purples’ senior point guard, has signed with Eastern Kentucky University. Tisdale, the KHSAA 4th Region Player of the Year, is on her way to Northern Kentucky University.

“We will wish them well,” Coleman said with a smile, “but we’re not sorry to see them go. We tried to box out on Meadow the best we could.

“We couldn’t even move her.”

Tisdale finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, six steals and five blocked shots, but Saturday night’s game was a breakthrough performance for junior guard JaSiyah Franklin, who showed some strong moves to the basket while leading all scorers with 20 points in just 18 minutes on the floor.

 “I knew that I had to do what I had to do, so we could advance to play in the championship,” Franklin said.

Shelton was content to serve as a distributor in this tilt, finishing the game with four points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals. Katy Smiley, a sophomore BGHS forward, continued to have an impact on the offensive end of the floor. Smiley hit four of seven shots from 3-point range and scored 12 points with three steals.

It was also a breakthrough night for 5-foot-1 sophomore guard NaTaya Wardlow, a rugged defender who finished the game with eight points and five steals.

“Defensively, (Wardlow) does exactly what we want her to do,” BGHS coach Calvin Head said. “She knows this is a huge role for her. In JaSiyah’s case, we see that from her every day in practice.

“We’re at our best when we share the basketball. It’s a big step for us tonight.”

Senior BGHS guard Tanaya Bailey was treated for a leg injury early in the game but came back to finish with 12 points and five rebounds in 16 minutes on the floor.

“Tanaya cramped up a little bit,” Head said, “but once she got hydrated, she was fine.”

Freshman guard Bree Jolly led the Lady Hornets with 12 points while junior centr Anna Bylthe had nine points and seven rebounds. First-year coach Heidi Coleman has just one senior, Camryn Reece, on her roster.

“Metcalfe County is ahead of schedule. We have a lot of respect for them,” Head said.

Likewise, the veteran BGHS coach expects a tough, competitive game against Barren County on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a challenge. We’ve got a lot of respect for Coach (Piper) Lindsey and Barren County,” Head said. “They spread the floor, they’re very skilled … They’re a program, not just a team.”

Tip-off for Sunday’s championship game is set for 3 p.m. with the boys semifinals — Bowling Green vs. Barren County, and Warren Central vs. Warren East — scheduled for Monday night.