The McCracken County Lady Mustangs will return to the First Region Championship game Saturday after missing the cut last season with a commanding 70-27 win over the Carlisle County Lady Comets in the semifinals Friday night.
A commanding start on the defensive front would help the Lady Mustangs to a 10-0 lead as defensive traps and slick hands, led to easy buckets on the other end. Senior Reagan Hill would control a personal 6-0 run herself before the Lady Comets could get on the board.
“Our key tonight was we didn’t want to give Carlisle any sort of momentum, especially early,” McCracken County head coach Scott Sivills said. “We know they’ve had a terrific season — Coach Wright has done a good job with her team this year. We just didn’t want them to get off to a good start, because when they do, they roll pretty quick. I thought our kids came out strong early, made some shots early and that kind of relaxed us and were able to just push our lead out from there.”
Carlisle County’s Macee Hogancamp would be the one to break up the Lady Comets drought with a successful and-one opportunity at the 3:36 mark. Ava Hughes would knock down back-to-back 3-pointers from there to set the tone for her successful 18-point night and help ignite a 3-point shooting clinic led by the Lady Mustangs.
In total, the victors nailed 11 buckets from beyond the arc across five different Lady Mustangs. To top it off, the talented squad saw 11 different girls contribute to the 70-point score.
“That’s just huge,” Sivills said on the depth of scoring from his team. “To have 26 wins and only have one player average double figures all year long, gives you an idea on any given night we’ve had someone step up and give us a huge lift.”
Of course that double digit averager is Hughes, who entered the night averaging 12.1ppg. Her 18 points only solidifies her value to the Lady Mustangs lineup and seeing 10 other girls put up points shows her value as a leader in encouraging her teammates.
A 33-16 halftime lead would be the cushion that Sivills and his staff were looking for out the gate, but the Lady Mustangs showed no signs of slowing down. Mason Clements would sink back-to-back 3-pointers behind a buckets from Hill to get up 41-16 and Abby Casebier would add another shortly after to make the quarter of threes.
For the Lady Comets it was the sheer opposite in the third as they tallied just one field goal behind a Hogancamp bucket, while their four other points in the period came from the foul line. Hogancamp would lead the Lady Comets with 18 points on the night.
With a 55-22 lead heading into the final eight minutes the Lady Mustangs did anything but slow down. With reserves in, the Lady Mustang bench proved they were ready for the action under the CFSB Center lights, as five Lady Mustangs all came off the bench and tallied 16 points in the fourth. Sophomore Layton Owens would led the quarter with a pair of triples.
McCracken County now turns their attention to the championship matchup Saturday night where they will take on the Calloway County Lady Lakers who haven’t lost a region matchup this season.
“We are excited to be here,” Sivills said. “I think a lot of people doubted us at the beginning of the year, but we’ve gotten gradually better every single week. We had a very tough schedule all year long and we know that Calloway has been picked number one the entire year. So, it’s our goal to find a way to play four complete quarters. We have a lot of respect for Calloway County, their coaches and their players.”
When it comes down to it, Sivills just wants his girls to have a chance in the fourth quarter.
“All we want it to have a chance in the fourth quarter. In a game like this one with the pressure, all we ask our kids is to give us a chance in the last three of four minutes of the ballgame.”
That championship matchup is set for Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the CFSB Center in Murray.
As for the Lady Comets, their season comes to an end on a 25-8 record and with zero seniors on the roster, their are poised to come back hungry for a chance at the region title game.
Game Stats
McCracken Co. 19 | 14 | 21 | 16 — 70
Carlisle County 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 — 27