Buckner, KY – The 31^st District girls basketball tournament was expected to be a heavily-contested affair, but privately, most observers expected the top two seeds, Oldham County and South Oldham, to be meeting in the finals. In the end, hard-nosed defensive play was what kept both schools in the championship hunt, instead of the Lady Panthers of Carroll County and the Lady Raiders of Trimble County…

Oldham County 55, Carroll County 48 (OVERTIME) – The Lady Colonels had endured a very un-Oldham-like season, finishing the regular season with a sub-.500 record at 12-14. But seven of the fourteen losses had come to teams ranked in the top fifteen – three ranked in the top five. The Lady Colonels started five seniors, including four-year starter Rebecca Husband and three-year starter Eryn Jacobson, they were playing at home, and besides, they had beaten Carroll County by 22 on January 28t^h. The game against Carroll County (10-14 entering the game) was supposed to be a mere formality.

Right.

Playing inspired basketball, coach Mike Riffe’s Lady Panthers took it straight to Oldham County from the opening tip. With freshman Jill Oak handling the ball with precision against the Oldham press, 5’2" senior point guard Becky Taulbee masterfully directing the half-court offense, and the big Carroll front line (6’0" Amanda Alexander, 6’0" Tara Hornbeck, and 5’11" Brittney Stevenson) controlling the inside, the Lady Panthers came out playing like the favorites.

Early on, Carroll pounded the ball inside to Alexander and Hornbeck, and the two combined to stake the Lady Panthers to an early 6-0 lead 3 ½ minutes into the game. Amy Johnson finally got Oldham on the board with a bucket before Taulbee scored to push the lead back to six at 8-2. It was to be the biggest lead in regulation play for either team.

The cold-shooting Lady Colonels pulled to within three at the end of one period on a basket by Rebecca Husband and a free throw by Johnson.

Carroll maintained a slim lead throughout the first half of the second period, before Husband scored at the 4:12 mark to give Oldham its first lead of the night at 13-12. Both teams were struggling at this point to get shots to drop, but after combining for just 25 points in the first 12 minutes, the two squads tallied a total of 20 over the next four. Oldham County hit just 7 of 29 first half shots (24.1%), but managed to score the final four points of the half to push in front, 23-22 at the break. Husband (9 first half points) scored seven of Oldham’s final 12 points in the first half.

The third period brought more of the same. Carroll caught up and pushed ahead by one at 27-26 on a basket by Alexander, but Oldham countered with a three by Eryn Jacobson and a basket by Husband to go up by four at 31-27 – their biggest lead of regulation. The Lady Panthers, however, fought back, moving back in front at 36-35 on a basket by Hornbeck. Again, however, Oldham pushed ahead just before the quarter’s end, regaining the lead at 37-36 on a free throw by Sam Mosby with just one-tenth of a second showing on the clock.

The Lady Panthers scored the first five points of the fourth period on a three by Oak and two Taulbee free throws to seize a four point lead at 41-37 with 6:32 to play. But again the Lady Colonels clawed back into contention, and a Husband basket tied it at 43 with 4:35 left.

The two teams traded scores, and with under three minutes to play, Husband had tied it yet again at 46-all. Husband, who was only 4 of 18 in the first three quarters, put the team on her back in the final period, hitting three of four shots from the floor.

At this point, both defenses took over, and the score still stood at 46-46 with under a minute to play. With 44.3 seconds left, Jessica Holyroyd found an opening on the right side and drove for a contested layup. But the basket was waved off when the sophomore was called for charging.

Carroll then missed three golden opportunities to take the game. First, Taulbee missed a fifteen-foot jumper. A held ball was called on the rebound, and Carroll County got the ball out of bounds. On the inbounds play, both Taulbee and Hornbeck got point-blank shots at the basket, and both missed. Holyroyd rebounded, and Oldham County called time out with 24.0 seconds left to play. But Husband was called for travelling with 6.3 seconds to go, giving Carroll yet another chance to steal the win.

The Oldham defense, however, didn’t give up a shot, as Carroll County never had the opportunity to shoot, setting up overtime.

Taulbee gave the Lady Panthers their last lead of the game, 48-46, to start the three-minute overtime, but Jacobson tied it up for Oldham. After a Carroll turnover, Amy Johnson hit one of two free throws to give Oldham the lead for good at 49-48. Carroll turned the ball over again at the 1:40 mark, and then Jill Oak, the talented freshman, fouled out. Husband hit both free throws to make it a three-point lead at 51-48.

Without Oak to bring the ball up against the press, the fatigued Lady Panthers came unglued. Three consecutive possessions ended in turnovers, without a shot being taken. Meanwhile, Oldham was sending a parade of free throw shooters to the line, with Eryn Jacobson putting the final touches on the victory with two free throws with 8.3 seconds left to play.

All told, after Taulbee’s basket to open overtime, the Lady Panthers turned the ball over on their next five possessions.

The Lady Colonels survived a dismal shooting night (25% from the floor overall, 11.1% from beyond the arc) thanks to defense and free throws. They improve to 13-14 on the season; Carroll County’s season ends at 10-15.

Oldham Co. – Husband 24, Jacobson 13, Johnson 7, Koebel 5, Middleton 2, Holyroyd 2, Mosby 1, Irwin 1 Threes – Jacobson 1

Carroll Co. - Alexander 17, Oak 10, Taulbee 9, Beach 6, Hornbeck 6 Threes – Oak 2

South Oldham 46, Trimble County 42 – This game was expected to be close, and it didn’t disappoint. The two teams had combined for 35 wins during the regular season, and came in as the two hottest teams in the tourney. South had won five of their last eight, including wins over three of the Eighth Regions’ better teams: Spencer County (19-7), Bullitt East (at Mt. Washington), and Trimble County (17-9). Trimble had won seven of their last eight games. The Lady Raiders only loss during that time was a 50-41 loss to top seed Oldham County. South had the most prolific offense in the District, averaging nearly 60 points per game; Trimble had the stingiest defense, allowing just 44 points per contest.

And although South had beaten Trimble by 16 on 1/22/02, that 71-55 score was very deceiving. The game was actually an overtime contest that had fallen apart on Trimble in the overtime period, when South outscored the Lady Raiders, 16-0 to win going away.

The game featured the experience of Trimble – three seniors, Cassie Fisher, Nicky Draque, and Lindsay McGuire, each had four years of varsity experience - and the talented youth of South Oldham. Only one senior, Emily Cobb, played for South. (another senior, Alexis Fleming, had been out with an injury nearly all season) Three sophomores started for South – Ashley Trosper, the team’s leading scorer, Stephanie Hay, and Megan Lee – and three others played significant minutes.

It appeared that youth was to be educated by the Lady Raiders, the 2001 31^st District runner-ups. When Stasha Stewart scored midway through the first period, Trimble had staked out a 7-2 lead. Ashley Trosper single-handedly pulled South to within one at 7-6, before Trimble settled for a 9-7 lead after one period. Six unanswered Trimble County points to start the second period pushed the Lady Raiders out to the biggest lead of the night at 15-7 with 6:23 to go in the first half.j

South fought back with their defense, and the scoring of 6’2" junior Ashley Staude and sophomore Megan Lee. The two combined for ten of the Lady Dragons’ twelve second period points, and Lee’s third basket of the period pulled South to within two at 21-19. Trimble then scored the final three points of the half to take a five point halftime lead at 24-19.

Neither team scored much in the third, but Trosper and Staude – who scored all nine of South’s third period points – put the team on their shoulders and South Oldham pulled to within two points after three periods at 30-28. Still, the nightmarish shooting continued for the Lady Dragons, who were 11 of 45 from the floor (24.4%) after three quarters.

Staude and Trosper continued the attack in the fourth period. In fact, the two combined for 24 of South’s 27 second half points. Trimble had no answer for the 6’2" Staude on the inside, trying unsuccessfully to defend her with the 5’7" Cassie Bray, 5’8" Wendy Cull, and 5’6" Jenny Young-Reed.

Staude opened the fourth period with a basket and a free throw, giving South Oldham their first lead of the night at 31-30. The two teams then traded scores. First Bray pushed Trimble back on top, only to see Staude score again on the inside to propel South back on top, 33-32. After McGuire hit a basket and a free throw, Trosper responded with a three pointer from deep off the left wing to restore the one-point South lead. Trimble then threw what could have been a knockout punch.

Young-Reed first scored to push Trimble back on top, 37-36 with 3:40 remaining. Thirty seconds later, she scored again, was fouled, and sank the free throw for a four-point margin at 40-36. It was the longest string of unanswered points since Trimble County had opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run, and someone on the Lady Dragons’ squad had to answer the call.

Not surprisingly, it was Trosper. The gutsy sophomore drained a 22 foot jumper off the left wing to pull South to within one at 40-39. After two time outs, South got the ball back. Trosper missed another three-point attempt, but the Lady Dragons forced a held ball situation, and South got the ball back with 1:27 to play.

Staude scored her third basket of the period to give South the lead again at 41-40, but McGuire responded in kind, calmly hitting two free throws at the 1:00 mark to give Trimble one final advantage at 42-41.

Then came the biggest shot of the game.

With Trimble County concentrating on pressuring Trosper outside, and collapsing on Staude on the inside, Stephanie Hay, who was 0 for 4 from the floor up to this point, found herself wide open on the right wing. The 5’4" sophomore coolly launched – and drained – a three-pointer to drive a dagger deep into Trimble County, giving South their biggest lead(!) of the night (at that time) at 44-42. Seconds later, she stole the ball, and although she would later throw the ball away trying to bring it upcourt against the Trimble defense, the steal took precious seconds away from the Lady Raiders. With 24.7 seconds left, Trimble set up a final play, but Nicky Draque lost control of the ball bringing it into front court. Trosper picked up the loose ball, was fouled by Draque, and sank two free throws to ice the win with 10.2 seconds to play.

Trimble missed a meaningless desperation shot at the buzzer, and South had secured a spot in the "all-Oldham" final on Saturday night at 7 pm against Oldham County.

Notes: Ashley Staude missed her first two shots, but then hit seven of her last nine, including her final four in a row. Ashley Trosper hit three of six three point shots, and was a perfect 6 of 6 at the line. South Oldham improves to 19-9 on the season; Trimble falls to 17-10.

South Oldham – Trosper 19, Staude 15, Lee 6, Hay 3, Cobb 2, Dearmond 1 Three-pointers: Trosper 3, Hay 1

Trimble County – Young-Reed 12, McGuire 8, Draque 7, Cull 6, Bray 6, Stewart 3 Three-pointers: none

Next Sportszone AM 1600 Broadcasts:

Friday, March 1, 2002 – 31^st District boys’ championship; Oldham Co. (24-2) vs. South Oldham (16-11), tip-off 7 pm, pregame 6:53 pm on AM 1600 WTSZ

Saturday, March 2, 2002 – 31^st District girls’ championship; Oldham Co. (13-14) vs. South Oldham (19-9), tip-off 7 pm, pregame 6:53 pm on AM 1600 WTSZ