Wednesday’s win was never in doubt, as the Owensboro Catholic girls’ basketball team routed Brown 73-23 in the opening round of the All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena.
Mackenzie Keelin finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds in only 15 minutes of play, and she went 6-of-6 from the field (4-for-4 from deep) in the first half.
Keelin capped a 12-0 run the Lady Aces (14-6) used to start the game, and Brown (10-9) never threatened to make a comeback. OCHS head coach Michael Robertson said his team finally put together a complete game.
“We just played hard form the opening tip,” he said. “We were ready and focused. The girls listened to what we told them to do. We kept them off the glass, got out and ran, and made everything hard on them.”
The Lady Aces had 11 steals and forced 16 turnovers, and they were also efficient on the offensive end. Catholic finished with 22 assists on 26 made baskets, scoring 32 points in the paint and getting 20 points off turnovers.
They stretched a 22-6 lead after the first quarter into a commanding 45-15 halftime advantage.
Through the first half, Catholic went 18-for-25 from the field (5-of-7 from 3-point range).
Hannah McKay also reached double figures, scoring 18 points to go with 4 rebounds. Katie Riney scored 7 of the bench’s 21 total points and had 2 steals.
For Keelin, Robertson said hitting the first shot gave her confidence early. While it was a big scoring night for her, Robertson said Keelin is continuing to develop other skills that help the team succeed.
“I think she’s played really well (lately),” he said. “A lot of people have thrown a lot of junk at her and she kind of got frustrated. I think she’s learning how to play without scoring — distributing the ball, getting assists, setting screens for her teammates. She’s starting to become a complete player, and it’s a great thing for us if she does that.”
With the win, the Lady Aces advance to the quarterfinals, where they face defending champion Murray (18-2). The Lady Tigers also won Wednesday, earning a victory with a last-second shot to beat Danville 56-54. Tipoff will be at 9 a.m. CST.
Scoring
O. Catholic 22-23-18-10–73
Brown 6-9-6-2–23
O. Catholic: Mackenzie Keelin 18, Hannah McKay 12, Sarah Beth Clemens 8, Katie Riney 7, Spencer Harvey 8, Madelyn Lyon 6, Isabella Henning 4, Tierney Johnson 4, Camille Conkright 4, Kinsley Goetz 2
