Head coach Natalie Payne and her gritty Apollo squad couldn’t hold back their excitement Tuesday night, and for good reason. The E-Gals claimed the 3rd Region Tournament crown for the first time in 24 years, downing Meade County 52-37 at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
The last time Apollo won the region title was in 1997 when Payne (still Powers at the time) was a senior playing for Willis McClure — who is now an assistant coach for the E-Gals. After a few years of knocking on the door and with a core group of seniors this season, the coaching duo has finally put Apollo back on top.
“I can’t put it into words,” Payne said of how meaningful the win is. “It’s just a storybook ending. Twenty-four years ago Coach McClure and I were doing this same thing together my senior year. Now we’re able to do this together as coaches and try to share some of that tradition and build that tradition again at Apollo.
“These girls really bought in the last part of this season and fought through a lot of adversity, and I guess that’s why we have so many emotions. Not only is it just magical to win the region and go on, but just because of all that we’ve been through is extra special.”
It was tough sledding for both teams in the early going Tuesday night. They combined for more turnovers (11) than points (9) in the first quarter.
Enter Amber Dunn, who was sidelined for a significant chunk of the season due to an ankle injury and is still playing through some pain.
Dunn scored in the closing seconds of the first frame to give Apollo a 5-4 lead heading into the second, where she took control of the game. She sparked a 7-0 run to give the E-Gals a lead they largely nursed the rest of the way.
Apollo took a 20-9 lead into the half — with 13 points from Dunn — and they had taken control.
“We finally settled in,” Payne said. “We knew they were going to pressure us. We were a little bit back on our heels and it took us a while to get in the flow. Once we got our bearings, we were back to our old self at spreading the floor and Amber got to go to work and do her thing.”
Dunn said the last month or so has been tough, but over the last two weeks she’s started to feel more like herself and get in shape. That was on display for much of the championship game.
“I was just attacking, trying to get to the basket and make something happen for me or my teammates,” she said. “Just started to roll from there.”
Apollo’s offense went cold midway through the third, but they caused enough problems for Meade County that the Lady Waves couldn’t ever quite get in striking distance. A bucket from Dunn broke a scoring drought and gave the E-Gals a 30-23 advantage heading into the final frame.
Meade County kept things interesting, using 3-pointers to get within 38-33 and just 4:34 to play. Apollo’s toughness and speed proved too much, as they used offensive boards and fast breaks to stretch the lead to 47-36 with about 2 minutes to play and all but sealing the win.
“It was exciting,” Dunn said of finally hoisting the trophy. “This is literally what we’ve worked for since we started together. Most of us have played together since middle school so it’s been one of our goals throughout our careers.”
Dunn led the way Tuesday, scoring 23 points and adding 10 rebounds, going 9-13 from the field and 5-5 at the line.
Payne said it was incredible to see Dunn’s perseverance pay off.
“She didn’t know if she was even going to be able to step on the floor. For her to be able to help carry us the last few games because they were keying on other players, she was able to step up. For her to be able to do that tonight, I’m just so darn proud of her. She’s a kid that just fights and fights and fights and won’t ever give up.
“She gets in that zone in big games and you know to give her the ball because she’s going to go to work and make something happen. As coaches we saw that we needed to find her. The kids did a good job of finding her.”
As is usually the case, though, it took a team effort from Apollo. Amaya Curry added 12 points, Shelby Beatty had 10 and Zoe Floyd scored 7. Floyd also pulled down 10 boards (5 offensive).
“We’ve really grown up,” Payne said, noting that her players share the ball and look for the hot hand. “We have a lot of weapons. They can realize it if it’s not their night. That’s been the key, along with defense. They’ve really accepted their roles.
While winning the region title is a major milestone, Payne said Apollo has their eyes on more.
“This is not the end,” she said. “This is another beginning.”
Apollo now moves on to play Henderson County at 4 p.m. CST on April 8 in the first round of the girls’ state tournament. The Lady Colonels were the last team to beat Apollo, a 50-33 win on March 9. Neither team has lost a game since.
Apollo 52, Meade County 37
AHS 5-15-10-22–52
MCHS 4-5-14-14–37
AHS: Amaya Curry 12, Shelbie Beatty 10, Zoe Floyd 7, Amber Dunn 23
MCHS: Molly Aebersold 3, AnnaBelle Babb 2, Mattie Clanton 3, Peyton Bradley 12, D Griffin 4, Jenna Gallimore 11, Katie Durbin 2
