Monticello — The Wayne County Lady Cardinals met Region 8 foe South Oldham last Monday at Western Hills HS gym, in the opening round of the Wolverine Classic.

The Lady Cards entered on a three-game losing streak, which included a

71-67 loss to Grayson County in the Lexington Catholic Republic Bank Holiday Classic in their last outing.

South Oldham entered on a five game winning streak that included a 61-24 championship game win over Lanesville (IN) in their own Lady Dragon Hoopfest.

Wayne County used a 26-11 run late in the first half and through the third quarter, to erase a South Oldham 22-10 lead, en route to a 53-48 opening round win.

Freshman guard Jessica Hardin scored a game high 18 points with 4 rebounds, as the Lady Cards improved to a 3-8 on the season.

Hardin finished 3 of 8 from the field with two 3-pointers and connected on 10 of 12 free throws, before fouling out in just under 24 minutes of action.

"South Oldham came in playing very well, so this was a good win for our basketball team. Jessica made some big shots and made the most of her opportunities from the line. As a team our free throw shooting was much improved, so hopefully that's something we can build on. I was disappointed with our effort for most of the first half, but we battled back to do some good things to get the win," said Lady Cards head coach Tim Pyles.

Kayla Bowlin shot 5 of 12 from the field and 5 of 7 from the charity-stripe to total 16 points with 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 assist.

"We have to be more consistent with our offense, but for the half we shot the ball pretty decent. Shot selection is such a big key with our team," said Pyles.

Freshman forward Hallie Gillespie just missed a double-double with 9 points and a game high 9 rebounds. Taylor Alexander, a 6-0 eighth grade reserve, shot 4 of 4 from the field to post 8 points with 7 rebounds, in 15 minutes of play.

"I thought our rebounding was a big key in this game. We attacked the boards hard and I thought the play of Taylor Alexander was the difference in the game. She made some big buckets late and gave us a huge boost off the bench," said Pyles.

Kourtney Criswell finished with 2 points and 6 boards, as Wayne County claimed a 39-24 rebound advantage.

South Oldham, which dropped to 5-4, placed two scorers in double figures, led by the 14 points and 3 rebounds of Jordan McGuffin. McGuffin shot 4 of 8 overall from the field and 5 of 7 from the free throw line, while Angie Whitfield shot just 5 of 17 from the floor to add 10 points.

Six different Lady Dragons scored in the contest, as the 8th Region squad was plagued by 34 percent shooting.

"South Oldham had just won their tournament, hadn't lost in several weeks, so they were playing with a lot of confidence. We made a pretty good run in the third quarter, but I think we were fortunate with some of their mistakes late," said Pyles.

South Oldham had a trio of players net 4 points each and another added a basket, as the Lady Dragons pushed to a 14-10 first quarter lead.

South opened the second stanza with an 8-0 run to push to the largest lead of the game, at 22-10. The Lady Cards shot just 2 of 11 from the field in the period, but answered back with a 7-0 spurt of their own, to leave the halftime score at 22-17.

"We just didn't execute very well for most of the half," said Pyles.

South Oldham used a balanced attack to enjoy the halftime advantage, while Wayne County was paced by the 7 points of Kayla Bowlin.

Jessica Hardin heated up for 12 points in the third frame, as the Lady Cards used a 19-11 tilt to claim a 36-33 lead.

Wayne County made 9 of 14 free throws down the stretch and ended the game with a 17-15 edge to take a 53-48 opening round win. Jordan McGuffin kept the Lady Dragons close with 8 points in the final period.

South Oldham shot 19 of 56 overall from the field for 34 percent, which included a 3 of 17 effort from 3-point range for 18 percent. The Lady Dragons converted on 7 of 14 free throws for 50 percent and finished with 11 turnovers, which the Lady Cards turned into 11 points.

Wayne County shot 14 of 35 from the field for 40 percent and tallied on

3 of 13 behind the arc for 23 percent. The winners marked on 22 of 29 free throws for 76 percent and totaled 7 assists with 5 steals, against 24 turnovers.

"We have to take better care of the basketball and make good decisions.

They doubled us in points off turnovers, so this was a game that our rebounding and shooting made up for that. I just wish we could put everything together for 32 minutes," said Pyles.

The win advanced the Lady Cards into a Wolverine Classic semifinals match up with 12 Region member East Jessamine. The Lady Jaguars advanced with a 43-38 win over Owen County. Details on the match up in a related story inside this edition of The Outlook.