Buckner, KY – Four teams with combined records of 74-23 collided at Oldham County High School as the Bruins of Central Hardin came to town for a doubleheader. Both the Oldham County boys and girls teams were looking for redemption after losing their last game, and both would get it – but in markedly different ways.

Oldham County Lady Colonels 71, Central Hardin Lady Bruins 56 – Don’t get the idea that this was a close game that was decided late. It wasn’t. The AP Poll had Oldham County ranked #14 and Central Hardin ranked #15, and both teams came into the game 18-6 on the season. But tonight, the chasm between the two teams was Grand Canyon-esque.

Both teams came in after tough losses. Oldham – without Brandi Miller, who had injured her toe – trailed Male by only seven after three quarters, but lost by 30. Central Hardin – who had opened the season 10-0 - had lost to Assumption by 16 on Wednesday. Early on, both teams showed their intention not to drop their second straight game, and midway through the first period, the score was knotted at 11.

Central was handling the Oldham County press easily. And although Brandi Miller was playing for Oldham County, she missed her first three shots and hit only 1 of 4 free throws during the stretch. Perhaps the pollsters were right.

Or perhaps not.

Beginning with a Rebecca Husband three-pointer – her second of three on the night – and buoyed by 12 points from Miller, Oldham County ripped off an amazing run of 22 unanswered points. Keyed by a stifling defense, Oldham simply wouldn’t let Central get the ball into front court. (For the game, Central committed 24 turnovers, with 14 coming in the first half.) The Lady Bruins didn’t score again for almost 8 minutes, finally getting two free throws from Amanda Miller with just 2:49 to go in the half. By that time, Oldham led, 33-13. Central would get just two more points in the quarter on a field goal by Miller with less than two minutes left in the half. At intermission, Oldham led, 35-15. Brandi Miller, who missed three of four first quarter shots, hit all five of her shots in the second frame.

After Central cut the lead down to 17 at 38-21 early in the third, the Lady Colonels ripped off 10 unanswered points, including three pointers by Husband and Eryn Jacobson, to push the margin to 27 at 48-21. Oldham would ultimately gain their biggest lead late in the period, when Hannah Gibson sank two free throws to make the score 55-26. They would settle for a 26-point margin at 56-30, going into the final quarter. Although Oldham didn’t shoot well from the floor in the third, they sizzled at the line, hitting 11 of 14. Rebecca Husband, who led the team in scoring with 18 points, hit four of four in the third, and seven of seven for the game.

With Oldham head coach Todd Gilley substituting freely, Central Hardin began cutting into the lead in the fourth period. The Lady Bruins outscored Oldham, 18-7, in the first five minutes of the period to pull to within 15 at 63-48 with 3:06 to go. With the game not yet put away, Gilley re-inserted some of his starters, and Brandi Miller was fouled on a move to the basket. The Central Hardin coaching staff protested too strenuously, and a technical was called. Miller hit the two free throws, Sarah Hadley hit the two technical free throws, and then, on the ensuing possession, Sarah Gibson scored. The six point trip propelled Oldham County back to a 21-point lead at 69-48, and they coasted to the 15-point victory.

Miller finished 6 of 13 from the field and 5 of 10 from the line. Definitely a sub-par performance by Brandi’s standards, but still a commendable performance considering her injury, which obviously hampered her free throw shot. She finished unofficially with 17 points.

The game was a physical game; it was the third consecutive girls basketball game aired on 105.7 FM in which the two teams shot over 70 free throws, as Oldham and Central combined for 74 attempts. Had this been last week, this would have set a new state record. (As it was, South Oldham beat the Lady Colonels to the punch by combining with Spencer County for 76 attempts last Friday, and by combining with Eastern for 79 attempts on Tuesday of this week.)

Oldham County improved to 19-6; Central Hardin falls to 18-7.

UNOFFICIAL WYKY 105.7 FM Scoring:

Oldham County – Husband 18, Miller 17, Jacobson 8, Hedges 7, S. Gibson 5, H. Gibson 5, Hadley 5, Koebel 2, A. Johnson 1, Irwin 1

Central Hardin – Ashley Smith 18, Lamons 14, Thomas 8, A. Miller 6, Risner 4, Stein 2, Brashear 2, Todd 2, Priddy 2
 
 
 
 

Oldham County 61, Central Hardin 47 (boys) – Oldham County looked like they might make this game a laugher, too, jumping out to leads of 7-0 and 19-9 after one period. But the charges of first-year head coach Mark White rallied, and with 57.7 seconds left in the first half, a basket by Kalvin Clark, a 6-5, 250 pound center, pulled the Bruins to within one at 27-26. Eric Johnson scored just before the intermission, and Oldham led, 29-26 at the break.

The good news for Oldham County was that Central never caught the Colonels. The bad news was that the Bruins just wouldn’t go away.

After a Hank Garrett three and two Donta Smith baskets pushed the Oldham lead to 40-31 midway through the third, Central struck back by scoring the final eight points of the period. Ben Cottrell’s three wrapped up the period by pulling the Bruins to within one at 40-39.

The play continued to be nip-and-tuck throughout the first half of the fourth period. The physical play of the Bruins, though, slowly started to haunt them. First Clark fouled out with 7:09 to play. He was replaced by 6’3" senior Tyler Coffey, who played exceptionally well and who scored four of the next six Central Hardin points. But Coffey was picking up personals as well, and shortly after he scored to pull Central to within one for the third time in the fourth period, he committed his fifth foul while on defense. There was still 3:53 to go in the contest, but it was as if the heart and soul had been ripped from the Bruins. The Colonels completely dominated the game from that point on, scoring the next nine points to push the lead back to double digits at 55-45 with 1:59 left.

Coach Mark White called time out to rally the Bruins, and Ed Hendrick scored on their next possession to make it 55-47. But the Oldham County defense had forced Central to waste 27 valuable seconds, and only 1:32 remained.

To the amazement of everyone, Central was practically unable to get the ball back. They refused to foul, and Oldham County scored the final six points of the game over the final 1:32 to win going away, 61-47.

The Colonels finished the regular season at 22-4; Central ended their regular season at 17-8.

Unofficial WYKY 105.7 FM Stats:

Oldham County – D. Smith 17, E. Johnson 15, Liedtke 9, Viehmann 6, Garrett 6, N. Johnson 6, Heimke 2

Central Hardin – Clark 9, Coffey 9, Priddy 8, Huff 7, Cottrell 7, Winston 6, Hendrick 2

NEXT WYKY 105.7 FM BROADCAST:

LIVE District 31 Tournament coverage: South Oldham vs. Gallatin County (girls), first round

Tuesday, 2/27/01, coverage begins at 5:30 pm

FOLLOW THE COLONELS AND DRAGONS throughout the 31^st District on WYKY 105.7 FM.

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