by Rusty Ellis

Pickett County-Clarkrange

A balanced scoring attack that saw four players finish in double-figures led Pickett County over Clarkrange 72-47, as the Lady Bobcats clinched their spot in the Region 4-A Championship.

Seven points from Ella Kate Kiesling and six from Callie Reeder in the first quarter keyed a 19-12 start for the Lady Bobcats, and they limited Clarkrange to just six points in the second quarter to take a 33-18 lead at halftime.

The Lady Buffaloes got threes early in the third from Macie Threet and Kady Hopkins to trim the lead down to single-digits, but Pickett County responded quickly and built the lead back up to 46-29 heading into the fourth quarter.

There, Clarkrange battled but ran out of gas late, as they were outscored 26-18 and Pickett County rolled to a 72-47 win to clinch both their spot in the region title game and their slot in the substate round.

Reeder led four Lady Bobcats in double-figures with 20 points, while Emmy Lowe scored 14 points. Kiesling finished with 13 points, and Zoey Nicholas rounded out the quartet with 12 points of her own in the win.

Hopkins and Threet provided most of the Clarkrange offense, as they closed their seasons with 20 points apiece.

Clarkrange’s season ends with a 17-15 overall record and a 5-3 mark in district play, while Pickett County will take on Clay County on Wednesday night in the girls Region 4-A Championship.

Clay County-East Robertson

The Lady Bulldogs got timely stops and crucial free throws late, as they survived a 31-point outing from East Robertson freshman phenom Allye Pennington in a 60-56 victory on Monday night.

Clay County built a double-digit lead early in the game, as Halle Buford’s three right before the buzzer gave the Lady Bulldogs a 21-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

There, East Robertson went on a 7-1 run to open the quarter, cutting the lead down to 22-17, but another Buford three pushed the lead back to 25-17. The Lady Indians closed the quarter strong however, as Clay led just 28-22 at the break.

The third quarter saw East Robertson cut the lead down to 32-31 on a Katie Pennington three, but Buford hit the first of her two threes in the quarter to respond. Buford’s second three appeared to be a haymaker, as she drilled a step-back bomb at the buzzer to give the Lady Bulldogs a 45-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Clay pushed the lead to double-digits on another basket from Buford to start the fourth, but the Lady Indians responded with threes from both Pennington sisters to cut the lead back down to 47-43.

Both teams battled back-and-forth, and an Allye Pennington three with 1:24 to go in the fourth made it a one-point game in favor of Clay at 57-56. That was the last time ERHS scored however, as Clay closed the 60-56 win out with the final four points of the game.

Buford finished with a team-high 24 points to lead Clay, while Bella Ashlock ended with 10 points.

Pennington’s 31 led all scorers, as she scored 16 of them in the fourth quarter.

Clay will now battle Pickett County on Wednesday in the Region 4-A Championship at 7 P.M.