By SHANNON HUTCHINSON Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Lady Cardinals hosted Southwestern on Friday, February
5 , in an important 48th District match-up for both teams. The Lady Cards
entered with a 7-14 record and were coming off a 56-51 home win over Clinton
County, in their last outing. Southwestern, playing for a share of the
postseason¹s number one seed, owned a 15-6 mark, coming off a 64-38 district
win over McCreary Central. The teams met 11 days earlier with Wayne County
claiming a 52-49 road win.
Freshman guard Jessica Hardin scored a career high 33 points and Wayne
County survived a game that featured 9 ties and 5 lead changes with an 11-5
overtime run, en route to a 72-66 home win. Hardin shot 9 of 14 from the
field and 13 of 16 from the free throw line, plus grabbed 10 boards in 35
minutes, as the Lady Cards notched a season best third straight win
"This was a game of spurts, runs and big plays. Jessica really stepped
up and played her best overall game of her young career. She was aggressive
on both ends, explosive to the basket and as a team this was a game I don¹t
think we could¹ve won a couple weeks ago. We are maturing as a team and
starting to understand the game, plus I like our intensity. We are making
clutch plays, which is something that haunted us earlier in the season,"
said Wayne County head coach Tim Pyles.
Junior guard Kayla Bowlin played the entire contest and posted 21
points, with a game high 5 assists. Bowlin finished 6 of 9 from the charity
stripe and 7 of 13 from the field, while Tashea Pyles added a double-double
with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore forward tallied on 2 of 13
field goal attempts and 6 of 8 free throws, in the win.
"Kayla had a good scoring night and made some big plays on both ends of
the floor. Tashea made some clutch threes in the fourth quarter, plus
rebounded the ball well, so this was a very good team effort. We had three
players in double figures and had several players step in and do good
things," said Pyles.
Hallie Gillespie netted 4 points with 4 boards, while Samantha Sexton
came off the bench to score 2 points, before fouling out in just under 16
minutes of action. Kourtney Criswell failed to score, but grabbed 7
rebounds, as the Lady Cards enjoyed a 38-31 rebound advantage.
"We limited Southwestern to just 4 offensive rebounds, so our effort on
the backboards was huge. We also had just 5 turnovers, so I really like the
improvements our team are making, we just have to keep working towards the
postseason," said Pyles.
Southwestern dropped to 15-7, despite the game high 41 points of Danay
Fothergill. The junior guard scored 34 points after intermission and
finished 12 of 31 from the floor, with 4 3-pointers, plus converted on 13
of 15 free throw attempts, in just under 36 minutes.
"Southwestern made some nice adjustments from our previous game and they
put the ball in the middle of the floor more, while allowing Fothergill some
different angles to the basket. She plays so physical and the way the game
is called, really makes Fothergill very tough to defend. Also with Jessica
Pierce on the inside, they have and present some tough match ups," said
Pyles.
Pierce, a 6-1 senior center, shot 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 7 from
the charity-stripe to net 14 points, with a game high 14 rebounds. Adison
Corder tallied 6 points, as five different Lady Warriors scored in the
contest.
"They have a nice team and when we play in the opening round of the
district at their place, I¹m sure it will be another battle," said Pyles.
Southwestern opened just 1 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc, but used
four different scorers to push to a 10-8 lead. Bowlin and Hardin paced the
hosts with 4 points each in the quarter, as Wayne County opened just 3 of 13
from the field.
The Lady Warriors opened the second stanza with a 7-2 spurt, to push to
their largest lead of the night at 17-10, but the Lady Cards ended the half
with a 17-2 run to take a 27-19 halftime lead. Wayne County heated-up to
connect on 9 of 14 shots in the period.
Danay Fothergill made 3 3-pointers in the third frame and totaled 15
points, as Southwestern used an 18-13 tilt, to close the Wayne County lead
to 40-37, after 24 minutes. The Lady Cards used the 7 points of Jessica
Hardin and made 9 of 10 free throws in the quarter.
Fothergill added 14 points in the final period, to offset the 8 points
of Hardin, as Southwestern used a 24-21 scoring edge to knot the score at
61-61, at the end of regulation. The hosts made 4 of 6 3-pointers in the
closing minutes, but inked just 5 of 9 free throws down the stretch.
"We shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter late but couldn¹t
capitalize on our free throws late, but give Southwestern credit they made
some big shots to come back. We turned the ball over and gave them a chance
to win late, but had a good defensive stop to force overtime," said Pyles.
Wayne County made 10 of 12 free throws in the bonus period and limited
Southwestern to just 1 of 7 field goal shooting to take an 11-5 edge, en
route to the 72-66 win.
Southwestern finished 21 of 52 overall from the field for 40 percent and
that included a 7 of 27 effort from 3-point range for 26 percent. The
visitors connected on 17 of 24 free throw attempts for 71 percent and
totaled 22 fouls, with just 7 turnovers.
Wayne County shot 21 of 52 overall for 40 percent and tallied on 5 of 21
3-pointers for 24 percent. The squad converted on 25 of 34 free throws for
74 percent and totaled 9 assists with 3 steals, against 5 turnovers.
"We continue to improve as a team and now have our longest winning
streak of the season, to build on. We know Somerset has a nice team, plus
lost to East Jessamine earlier in the year, so we have a big challenge this
week," said Pyles.
Details on both games in next week¹s edition of The Outlook.