Prior to this season, Apollo hadn’t won a game in the 3rd Region Tournament since they went to the finals in 2019, but this week has the E-gals poised for its first regional title since 1997.
Breckinridge County came into Saturday’s matchup with the top RPI in the region, but the E-gals entered as winners of four straight games, and they ended the Lady Tigers’ season with their 47-46 victory.
Apollo coach Natalie Payne has played and coached in a lot of basketball games throughout her career, but she said the victory over Breck was one she’ll always remember.
“Just an unbelievable game with two teams that were just battling from start to finish,” she said. “We knew it was going to be a physical game. We had prepared for that because that’s the style they play and that’s what got them in the position that they were in. We’ve started to play more physical as well so we knew it was going to be a knockdown, drag out war … And it was.”
The Lady Tigers came into the matchup with multiple players averaging double digits this season but Payne knew the offense went through junior Isabel Grimes.
For Apollo to win, Payne said they had to limit the crafty guard.
“We had to limit paint touches from all of them but mainly (Isabel) Grimes,” she said. “She attracts so much attention and those shooters spot up in the corners and she just finds them. When they’re set and they have their feet ready, they’re the No. 1 three-point shooting team in the state. I didn’t even know that until I started diving into the scouting. We just wanted to protect the paint as good as we could.
“Zoe (Floyd) was our helper, she was our spy. Addison (Carter) was our spy when we needed it. We wanted to wall up and make them shoot over top of us because they get to the line a lot too and we didn’t want to bail them out and have our key kids on the bench either.”
Apollo led 11-10 after the first and carried a 27-26 lead into the half, in larger part due to the play of Shelbie Beatty.
Beatty has been on a tear in recent weeks and she delivered again Saturday with a team-high 17 points.
“She was huge,” Payne said. “She stepped up there in the first half because they were in that inverted triangle chaser, and they weren’t chasing her. We were able to get some movement and kind of play 3-on-3 with the triangle and she knocked some key jumpers.”
The E-gals had a five-point lead heading to the fourth but that’s when the game was just getting started.
Despite the game being in single digits for the entire fourth quarter, the E-gals never gave up their lead as they were able to grab the one-point victory.
Payne said the next couple of days will be about focusing on little things and preparing for Meade County.
“We’ve got to continue putting emphasis on three stops in a row, throughout the course of the game,” she said. “That one quarter at a time mentality. To be honest, right now it’s up to us coaches to get them prepared defensively. Offensively, these kids know how to play. We can make some adjustments but I trust them to go out there and make plays and get the job done. It’s kind of just sharpening up, brushing up and fine tuning.”
Apollo will play Meade County at 7 p.m. Tuesday for the 3rd Region Tournament Championship.
Payne said Saturday’s victory gives them confidence going into their battle with the Lady Waves.
“We bent,” she said. “Several times we bent but we didn’t break. I think to be able to go through something like that gives you an added chip on your shoulder, another layer of toughness.”
APOLLO 47, BRECKINRIDGE COUNTY 46
BC (22-4) 10 16 7 13–46
AHS (15-6) 11 16 11 9–47
BC: Skylar Tucker 2, Isabel Grimes 17, Cassidy McDaniel 3, Sydney Tucker 5, Aleigha Mucker 17, Lily Critchelow 2
AHS: Amaya Curry 7, Shelbie Beatty 16, Zoe Floyd 11, Kassidy Daugherty 6, Amber Dunn 7
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
