Once the Lady Aces hit their stride, there was no slowing them down. Owensboro Catholic pulled away late in the second quarter and cruised the rest of the way in a 79-53 win over Grayson County in the first round of the girls’ 3rd Region basketball tournament Monday at the Sportscenter.
Catholic (23-10) advances to play Meade County in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday. The Lady Waves (20-11) rolled past Ohio County 67-38 in the tournament opener.
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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Isabella Henning and Hannah McKay carried the Lady Aces early, as the duo combined for a 10-2 run to start the game. Catholic pushed their lead to 17-9 by the end of the first quarter.
Grayson County (20-13) extended their pressure and forced a handful of turnovers to start the second period, and the Lady Cougars evened the game at 19-all with 4:32 left in the half.
It was all Catholic the rest of the way. The Lady Aces ramped up their own pressure and got bucket after bucket in transition as they closed the quarter on a 21-5 run.
McKay scored six points, Henning and Spencer Harvey added five each, Camille Conkright drained a three and Caroline Reid dropped in a runner during that stretch, and Catholic was suddenly up 40-24 at the half.
“We weren’t playing our defense,” Catholic head coach Michael Robertson said of the second quarter. “Then (Grayson County) kept pushing the ball and they got really tired. In turn I amped up the pressure. We started getting out and running, and that’s what ended up leading to a 16-point halftime lead.”
Catholic is most dangerous when they are able to push the pace, Robertson said.
“I think we’ve got the athletes to run with anybody in this region,” he said. “It’s just a matter of us getting out and doing it. We’ve got to get up and down the court.”
The Lady Aces outscored Grayson County 16-10 in the third quarter and 23-19 in the fourth.
McKay finished the first half with 12 points and nine rebounds, eventually posting game highs of 19 points and 12 boards. Henning added 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. Harvey had 10 points, three steals and three rebounds.
Other top contributors were Ally Maggard (7 points, 4 rebounds), Catherine Head (7 points, 4 assists, 3 steals), Conkright (6 points) and Reid (2 points, 4 assists).
“I was really proud. All-around great effort by my team,” Robertson said. “Hopefully we can continue to build on this because Meade County looked really good tonight and we’re going to have to play a great game to beat them.”
BOX SCORE
GCHS 9-15-10-19—53
OCHS 17-23-16-23—79
GCHS (53): Kenzie Renfrow (17), Ella Robinson (11), Bailey Snyder (8), Laura Vincent (4), Jenna Nash (3), Gracie Franklin (3), Aryssa Riggs (3), Mikah Lee (2), Rachael Snyder (2)
OCHS (79): Hannah McKay (19), Isabella Henning (18), Spencer Harvey (10), Catherine Head (7), Ally Maggard (7), Camille Conkright (6), Kashlynn Rice (3), Katie Riney (2), Caroline Reid (2), Randchelle Johnson (2), Brooke Hamilton (2), Kinsley Goetz (1)
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