When shots are falling, it’s hard to beat a good team. That was the case for the Owensboro Catholic Lady Aces Thursday as they got an early lead and led Grayson County wire-to-wire to cement their spot in Saturday’s 3rd Region Tournament semifinals.
The Lady Aces held the Cougars to nine points in the first half as they cruised to the 59-19 win with a running clock in effect for most of the second half.
Freshman Hailee Johnson hit two 3-pointers in the first couple of minutes to set the tone as Catholic hit seven 3-pointers in the first half and nine in the game.
Catholic coach Michael Robertson said he wasn’t sure what’d they see out of the Cougars Thursday.
“I watched one game and they were really good,” he said. “The next game they struggled. Tonight they struggled with our pressure. We were able to get some turnovers and lead to some easy buckets, not easy because most of our buckets came from the 3-point line but we saw the ball go through and shot in rhythm. Seeing the ball go through the basket is always a good thing.”
Robertson had said when the offense isn’t there, the defense has to be. When both things are clicking for the Lady Aces, he knows they can go far.
“When we shoot the ball well, we’re really dangerous,” he said. “Our defense plays so much harder. We were lacking in our defense. We were leaving some gaps in the middle of our zone, which I didn’t like. Those are things we’ll have to get to work on to get ready for Meade County. They’re going to be a test for us again on Saturday. Short turnaround. I’m excited, we’re still playing.”
Johnson was the lone Lady Ace to finish in double digits as the freshman had a game-high 11 points.
Catholic advances to the 3rd Region Tournament semifinals for the fourth-straight year. The Lady Aces take on Meade County after the Green Wave beat McLean County in Thursday’s first game.
Robertson was able to use his bench early while Meade has a tough game with the Cougars.
“They were in a dogfight the whole game but she plays a lot of people,” he said of Meade County coach Dina Hackert. “I’ll have to get back and watch them but I’m proud of the way we played. I’m proud of the way our subs played. They played really good defense. We held them to 19 points. Anytime you can hold somebody to 19 points, I think that’s a good job on the defensive end.”
Catholic and Meade County hit the court at 4:45 p.m. Saturday at the Sportscenter.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 59, GRAYSON COUNTY 19
OC (15-11) 15 16 20 8–59
GC (13-10) 7 2 5 5–19
OC: Katie Riney 6, Hailee Johnson 11, Lexie Keelin 7, Maddie Hayden 4, Catherine Head 3, Camille Conkright 5, Kashlynn Rice 4, Lauren Keelin 3, Ally Maggard 8, Kinsley Goetz 9
GC: Aryssa Riggs 5, Ella Robinson 4, Rachael Snyder 2, Annie Kiper 3, Brianna Dennis 3, Riley Stevenson 2
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
