Owensboro defeated reigning regional champions Owensboro Catholic 61-54 to lift the 3rd Region Championship. With this win the Lady Red Devils advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the state tournament for the first time since 1992, and they will play Henderson County at Rupp Arena on March 14. Both Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic had multiple players named to the 3rd Region All-Tournament Team. The All-Tournament team included:
- Karmin Riley (Owensboro Catholic)
- Jenna Krampe (Owensboro Catholic)
- Aubrey Randolph (Owensboro Catholic)
- A’Lyrica Hughes (Owensboro)
- Heleina John (Owensboro)
- Shalyn Sprinkles (Owensboro)
- Unique Carter-Swanagan (Owensboro)
- Ava Wilson (Butler Co.)
- Isabela Wilkins (Muhlenberg Co.)
- Annabelle Babb (Meade Co.)
- Paige Medley (Meade Co.)
- Sydney Perkins (Grayson Co.)
- Caroline Lucas (Breckinridge Co.)
- Kayleigh Huffiness (Breckinridge Co.)
- Kenadi Level (McLean Co.)
The final quarter of the championship was high-octane from start to finish as Jenna Krampe dished to Aubrey Randolph who cut to the basket and made the score 43-41 with OHS leading. Unique Carter-Swanagan found an opening to drive to the lane for 2 on the next possession. Delaney Cooper brought the gap to just 1 point after converting an And-1 play. After A’Lyrica Hughes drove in for a basket, the Lady Red Devils continued to make big plays on defense as Shalyn Sprinkles got a quick steal and an easy layup. They stopped OCHS again and made a free throw to put their lead back to 50-44.
Layla Martin made a big three for the Lady Aces and Krampe converted an and-1 play to put the score at 52-50 with just 2 and a half minutes left in the game. Krampe had a 22-point performance in the post for OCHS during the game. Owensboro head coach Jansen Locher praised Krampe’s ability down low and said that nobody could shut Krampe down, but he thought that Hughes did a good job limiting her throughout the game.
“She had to guard Jenna Krampe, and everybody knows that’s a hard job to do,” he said. “She fought every possession with her tonight. Nobody’s going to shut Jenna, but she limited what she did, I felt like. What she does defensively, the way she handles the ball, gets the tip for us, gets us rebounds; she just does it all. When she’s playing her best, we’re a really tough out no matter who we play.”
After both teams stopped one another, only a minute was left on the clock when Hughes went over Catholic’s full court press with a deep inbound pass down the court where Helina John was ready for an easy basket. Her layup took Owenbsoro’s lead to 56-50.
The Lady Aces continued to fight with Krampe scoring from the post along with Martin and Randolph both making 1 free throw each, but the Lady Red Devils had Sprinkles make 2 free throws, Carter-Swanagan make 1, and Keeley Harris get a big steal along with 2 free throws in the last 16 seconds to win the championship 61-54.
The final quarter was the climatic finish of what was a close game throughout. Owensboro Catholic held a 2-point lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to threes by Karmin Riley and Martin. Carter-Swanagan’s hustle in the second quarter played a big role in Owensboro taking a 30-27 lead going into halftime. She had multiple steals and recorded 8 rebounds including several defensive rebounds and several offensive rebounds throughout the game that led to second chance points or an assist. OCHS head coach Michael Robertson said the team was beaten on the boards, and Carter-Swanagan’s performance didn’t help.
“I would say we got beat on the boards pretty good today,” he said. “We didn’t have everybody crashing the boards. We were scrambling a little bit. With Unique, I don’t know how many she went in there and got and put back in, but that kills us.”
John led the Lady Red Devils in scoring with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Carter-Swanagan followed behind with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Hughes scored 11 points and had 6 rebounds.
Krampe’s 22 points and 7 rebounds led the Lady Aces in scoring. Randolph followed behind with 11 points, and Martin had 3 threes as part of her 10 points.
This win marked the Lady Red Devils’s first 3rd Region championship since 1992. This also means that they will be competing in the state tournament for the first time since then as well.
Locher said that the team was upset due to losing the district championship to Catholic, but he saw it as an opportunity to get revenge and continue fighting for a spot at state.
“A week and a half ago everybody was in tears because we lost the district championship,” he said. “I told them, ‘Losing this game means we can get back in a week and a half. I’ll take this loss anytime we need to.’ We were upset a week and half ago, but we’re thrilled now, so we’re going to celebrate this. We’re going to be back at it tomorrow and get ready for Henderson County. They’re really good. My niece plays for them, so I’m excited that we both get to play on that floor. One of us has got to go home, and I hope it’s not us.”
