Wayne County Outlook

South Laurel defeats Lady Cards 61-35
Shannon Hutchinson
Sports Writer

The Wayne County Lady Cardinals met rival South Laurel, last Monday

night at McCreary Central¹s Raider Gym, in the semi-finals of the 12th

Region Tournament. Wayne County advanced into the contest with a 54-37 win

over Garrard County in the opening round and owned a 24-6 mark. South owned

a 19-10 record on the season and pounded Casey County 60-28 in the tourney¹s

first round.

The teams met once in the regular season with South Laurel claiming a

53-46 win at Wayne County¹s Cardinal Gym.

South Laurel used the game high 19 points of senior forward Amber Neace,

to roll to an impressive 61-35 semi-final win. Neace shot 8 of 9 from the

field and 2 of 3 from the charity stripe, to pace seven different South

players in the scoring column.

³Give South Laurel all the credit, the better team on that night won.

They just pounded us on the glass and we struggled to get into any rhythm or

flow all game,² said Wayne County head coach Tim Pyles.

South Laurel claimed a 40-24 rebound advantage and was sparked by the

play of reserve Lauren Wombles. Wombles tallied 9 points, while the tandem

of Brittany Turner and Devon Burchett added 8 points each.

Wayne County, which dropped to 24-7, shot just 27 percent from the field

and was plagued by 18 turnovers. The Lady Cards were led by the play of KABC

12th Region Player of the Year Ashley Bell.

Bell, a Georgetown signee, netted a team high 16 points with a team best

7 rebounds. The senior stalwart converted on 6 of 15 field goal attempts and

4 of 7 free throws.

³This just wasn¹t our night, we struggled on the offensive end and that

carried over to the defensive end. We had something like 20 straight trips

where we didn¹t score and that frustrates you to the point it mentally wears

you out,² said Pyles.

Meg Latham, an 8th grade reserve forward, added 8 points with 5 boards,

as just two Lady Cards netted over 4 points.

South Laurel opened 6 of 14 from the field and raced to a 14-5 first

quarter lead. Wayne County shot a dismal 2 of 11 from the field and 1 of 5

from the free throw line, in the opening 8 minutes, plus was saddled with 6

turnovers.

Amber Neace and Ashley Bell both tallied 9 points a piece in the second

stanza, as South used a 19-16 edge to claim a 33-21 halftime lead.

Four different South players scored in the third frame, as the teams

battled on near even terms. The South Laurel Lady Cardinals used a 12-11

tilt, to push to a 45-32 lead. Wayne County was led by the inside duo of

Bell and Latham, as the duo accounted for 9 of their team¹s 11 points.

Devon Burchett led all players with 6 points in the final quarter, as

South Laurel ended the game with a 16-3 run and cruised to a 61-35 win. The

Lady Cards mis-fired on all 11 field goal attempts in the period and failed

to mount a challenge.

³South Laurel has good size and they made things difficult for us on

offense. We had some looks that didn¹t fall and things kind of snow-balled

from that point,² said Pyles.

A review of the stats shows South shot 25 of 61 overall for 41 percent

and tallied on 1 of 7 3-pointers for 14 percent. The winners committed 16

turnovers and finished 10 of 17 from the free throw line for 59 percent.

Kara Gothrup netted 4 points, while Heather Stearns contributed 3 points

and Latoyia Green and Brittany Gregory totaled 2 points each, to roun out

the six different Lady Cards in the scorebook.

Wayne County finished 12 of 45 overall from the field, for 27 percent

and made just 1 of 11 3-pointers for 9 percent. The squad tallied on 10 of

17 free throws for 59 percent and totaled 5 assists against 18 turnovers.

The contest marked the end of the road for Wayne County¹s two seniors.

Ashley Bell and Mandi Perkins both will graduate this Spring and be missed.

³Both of those young ladies have been a part of some great things at

Wayne County and will certainly be missed. They¹re both special people that

have had a positive impact on our program,² said Pyles.

Congratulations to the Lady Cards on a 24-7 season that produced the

school¹s 9th straight 47th District Title.

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