by Rusty Ellis
The Pickett County Lady Bobcats will meet the Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes in the Region 4A Championship after their semifinal wins on Monday night in Gainesboro.
First, the Lady Bobcats used a great start at both ends of the floor to take down Red Boiling Springs 66-59.
Pickett held the Lady Bulldogs in check on offense in the first quarter, limiting them to just nine points. Addy Lowe capped the frame off with a buzzer-beating three to push the PCHS lead to 19-9 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw RBS begin to get some stops defensively, though they were only able to cut the lead down to seven at one point before Zoey Nicholas drilled a three to end the brief run. Emmy Lowe scored on a floater in the paint to push the lead back to 32-23 at the half, as Pickett’s defense stepped up and bought the offense some time to find their rhythm again.
The third quarter is where Pickett really began to push the lead out some more, as they outscored RBS 18-13 to take a 14-point lead into the fourth, and while the Lady Bulldogs never stopped battling, Pickett never let them get closer than seven points and earned the 66-59 victory.
Emmy Lowe led the way with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Zoey Nicholas and Callie Reeder added 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Head coach Brent Smith knew it wasn’t pretty, but he was proud of his girls’ effort, as they clinched not only a spot in the region championship, but also a spot in the substate round.
“We jumped out and played really well early, and then we extended that lead in the third,” Smith said. “I’m just really proud of my team, our effort was really good…we didn’t contain Claire Fleming, but we contained everyone else, so that’s a great win for our program.”
Defensively in the second quarter, the Lady Bobcats looked as focused as they have at any point all season, and Smith had more of the same to say.
“We just tuned in and zoned in on what we were trying to do,” Smith said. “We did a good job on their shooters, any time you make them put the ball on the floor, it helps you…good defense leads to good offense, so that’s what we were trying to do.”
It didn’t always look pretty early in the season, but even after some of the tough times that any season provides, Smith is proud of his team for battling and earning a substate game.
“We had a little bit of a lull there, and it’s great for our kids to get this experience,” Smith said. “I think that’s a big plus for us looking down the road the next couple of years.”
Clarkrange followed that up with a win of their own in a back-and-forth effort against Clay County, the second time this season that the Lady Buffaloes have defeated the Lady Bulldogs.
A fast start to the first quarter saw Addy Stowers drill a trio of three-pointers to power the Lady Buffaloes to a 15-8 lead at the end of the first, and the lead ballooned as high as 25-12 after a Kady Hopkins three early in the second.
Clay didn’t roll over however, as they battled back and cut the deficit to just 25-18 at the halftime break.
The third quarter saw more of the same, as Clay cut the lead all the way down to 33-31 before Kacey Sells buried a three at the buzzer to send the game to the fourth with a 36-31 lead in favor of the Lady Buffaloes.
There, the two teams traded haymakers back-and-forth, with Clay County taking a five-point lead at 43-38 after a four-point play by Abby Head, but Clarkrange got right back into the game and took home the 55-48 win by outscoring Clay 17-10 over the final half of the fourth quarter.
Stowers led the way with 20 points, while Mattie Bush added 13 points of her own. Sells scored 11 points, and Hopkins contributed 10.
Head and Halle Buford scored 13 points each to lead Clay County.
Head coach Lamar Rogers has always preached about defense, and in the biggest moments on Monday night, the Lady Buffaloes got it done at that end of the floor.
“We had a good game plan, and it’s really due to our matchup zone,” Rogers said. “We used it again tonight, and we made a few mistakes, but our defense won the game for us…we led the whole game and then they caught us, so it showed a lot of character for us to be able to come back.”
It’s a big win for a team that didn’t make it this far a year ago, as Rogers says he hopes the team enjoys playing in these big games for a little while longer.
“We’ve got two that have been to substate before, but I’m happy for these girls and hope they enjoy it,” Rogers said. “It’s a lot more fun to play in a substate game at home than on the road, so that’s our goal.”
The two teams will clash for the fourth time this season on Wednesday night.
