Taking a 27-10 lead into halftime of the 3rd Region Championship, Owensboro Catholic had no intentions of reliving their recent 9th District Championship nightmare. Out of the break, they continued to harass Daviess County whenever they touched the ball – forcing 15 total turnovers on the afternoon.
A 27-10 lead quickly ballooned into a 51-32 Lady Aces win – their seventh 3rd Region title under Head Coach Michael Robertson and first since 2023.
“Defensively, I thought we were stellar,” Robertson said. “…I thought our ball movement was good, and I thought that was what got us good shots. We were looking to score, and we shared the ball really well. Taylor had a really good floor game, and Layla Martin was once again stellar on defense.”
The last time the two rivals had met was the 9th District Championship, a game in which the Lady Aces blew a 16-point lead in the last seven minutes. Using it as fuel, they took a quick 9-2 lead into the second quarter – holding the Lady Panthers star Kennedy Lane scoreless.
“We wanted to make it to Rupp and to beat them,” the Lady Aces’ Sophia Newby said. “We wanted our revenge. We wanted to make sure we didn’t make the same mistakes against them again.”
Having scored four points in the opening quarter, Newby continued to pour it on, adding eight points and a handful of rebounds. With Newby dominating on the inside, the perimeter began to open up, with Taylor Mannahan and Claudia Munsey both hitting a three.
Lane and Riley Hayden combined for all eight of the Lady Panthers second quarter points, as they entered halftime trailing 27-10.
Entering the game, Daviess County Head Coach Natalie Payne emphasized that they wanted to get off to a good start and to be aggressive.
“We thought we would try and get after them a little bit and pressure sooner,” Payne said. “Of course, they have good guards, and they got guard play from Hagan and Newby, who handled the ball well. They’re athletic, see the floor well, and they made the right plays. Hats off to them.”
Lane began to find her scoring touch in the second half, scoring 15 of her 18 points, but Owensboro Catholic made her work for every basket.
Amping up the pressure on defense in the second half, Owensboro Catholic pushed their lead to 42-21 behind Munsey, Mannahan, and Hagan combing for all 13 of their third quarter points. On the day, the Lady Aces shot 57.5% from the field and 50% from deep.
“Just knowing that it was win or go home,” Munsey said. “That’s been our mindset since Monday. We probably had the toughest draw in the tournament, and on Monday we told ourselves that we didn’t want to lose first round. Our goal was to go to Rupp Arena. We told ourselves the next shot is going in. This shot is going in. Having the mindset of it’s going in.”
Taylor Mannahan led the Lady Aces in scoring with 17 points, Newby and Munsey both added 14 points, and Hagan finished with six points. For the Lady Panthers, Lane finished with a game-high 18 points, Hayden and Jenna Stewart both added five points, and Briley Henry scored four points.
Despite the loss, Daviess County finished the season 27-6 and won its first 9th District Championship since 2012. The Lady Panthers will be losing five seniors to graduation – Lane, Henry, Molly Hancock, Madeline Jarboe, and Mackenzie Elliot.
Awaiting Owensboro Catholic in the opening round of the State Tournament is Letcher County Central, with tipoff scheduled for Thursday at 6 PM ET.
“We need to stay connected and stay together,” Munsey said. “We just need to do the same thing we have been doing all season.”
