Not much went wrong for the E-Gals in a monumental win Friday night, as they finally broke through for a victory over Owensboro Catholic. Apollo’s offense was hot, and an aggressive attack carried them to a 72-59 home win over the Lady Aces.
The E-Gals had lost nine straight against Catholic since a win in the 2017 district championship. The Lady Aces had won 24 games in a row — and 43 of their last 44 — against 3rd Region opponents.
Apollo (11-5) drained 10 of 15 3-point attempts and had five players finish with double-digit scoring. They finished 21-for-35 from the field, but most importantly put together one of their most complete games of the season.
“It’s not all about scoring, but when you’re able to put the ball in the hole your defense is better, you’re more alert,” said head coach Natalie Payne. “We were able to play that way for four quarters. That hasn’t been the case for us all season.”
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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After a quiet first half, the E-Gals’ Amber Dunn finished with a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) and was instrumental in snuffing out a promising comeback bid by Owensboro Catholic to start the third quarter.
Catholic (13-7) trailed 30-22 at halftime but got a couple of quick buckets to to cut the deficit to four points in less than a minute.
Dunn drained three treys over the next few minutes — and Kassidy Daugherty added one of her own — to push Apollo’s lead to 42-30.
Shelbie Beatty also hit three timely 3s of her own for the E-Gals. She knocked down two in a row in less than 30 seconds early in the second quarter to give Apollo their first double-digit lead at 25-12.
The other came as the Lady Aces were making their last threatening run, as Catholic’s Hannah McKay scored five quick points to get them within 52-44. Beatty sunk a 3 from the corner with about five minutes to go, and the E-Gals maintained at least a nine-point lead the rest of the way.
“She was special tonight,” Payne said. “She came in and knocked down a key 3 and kind of changed the momentum there. She was smart defensively, so both ends of the floor I was really proud of her.”
Apollo was able to keep the game out of reach with excellent free throw shooting down the stretch. They went 16-for-18 from the line in the fourth quarter, making the last 14 in a row.
Zoe Floyd, Daugherty and Amaya Curry also played big roles for Apollo. Floyd scored 10 of her 13 points in the first quarter, helping the E-Gals take a 15-12 lead. Daugherty knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points to go along with four assists. Curry had a team-high 16 points and added three assists.
“These kids stuck together,” Payne said. “I felt like we were really focused all week on defensive assignments and execution. I’m just proud of them for being able to carry out the game plan.”
McKay finished with 23 points and nine rebounds for Catholic. Isabella Henning added 13 points and six boards, while Spencer Harvey scored 11 points and had five assists.
Apollo is back in action Monday with a home game against Grayson County. Catholic is off until Wednesday when they face Bishop Brossart in the first round of the All “A” Classic state tournament at Eastern Kentucky University.
BOX SCORE
OCHS 12-10-12-25—59
AHS 15-15-16-26—72
OCHS (59): Hannah McKay 23, Isabella Henning 13, Spencer Harvey 11, Caroline Reid 4, Ally Maggard 4, Catherine Head 2, Camille Conkright 2
AHS (72): Amaya Curry 16, Amber Dunn 15, Kassidy Daugherty 13, Zoe Floyd 13, Shelbie Beatty 10, Amari Sanders 5
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2019-20 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
