Crestwood, KY – In 1998, the South Oldham Lady Dragons won their only 8^th Region crown on their home floor over the Shelby County Lady Rockets. Five years later, the two schools squared off again in the final on the same floor, but with dramatically different results.

Coming off a lackluster 44-41 win over Bullitt Central in the semi-finals, South rebounded with a sharp performance early on. Trailing 9-6 early, South ran off six unanswered points on baskets by Ashley Trosper, Stephanie Vaughn, and Ashley Staude to take a 12-9 lead with just under three minutes to play in the period. But the Rockets followed a Shelby time out with an 8-0 run, with Charlotte Marshall and Amanda Greene sandwiching two Marshall free throws between two three pointers, pushing Shelby ahead, 17-12.

South scored the final four points of the quarter to pull to within one at 17-16, following two free throws from Vaughn with just one second to play in the first period.

With Staude posting up inside and hitting short jumpers, and Trosper and Vaughn driving the lane and baseline for layups, South continued to attack the Rocket half-court defense. Barely two minutes into the second period, the Lady Dragons regained the lead at 20-19 on a bucket by Staude. That’s when the wheels suddenly came off.

Vaughn and Trosper each picked up their second foul early in the period, and Shelby capitalized. Without Trosper’s defense on the perimeter, Shelby began bombing from the outside; three Lady Rockets – Natoya Railey, Charlotte Marshall, and Toni Slaughter – all rained in threes before the half ended. And without Vaughn’s and Trosper’s passing, Staude suddenly found herself on an island in the post. When the Dragons didn’t turn over the ball in the frontcourt – four second period turnovers – Staude found herself only able to get the ball outside her comfort range. After hitting three of five shots in the first period, the 6’2" senior hit just one of four shots in the second.

Against the state’s seventh-ranked defense (Shelby allowed just 40.4 points per game during the regular season), and with two critical cogs on the bench, the South offense sputtered. Meanwhile, Shelby ripped off sixteen unanswered points to end the half ahead, 35-20. The Lady Dragons never fully recovered.

Three minutes into the third period, a 5-0 South Oldham run pulled the Lady Dragons to within 12 at 39-27 on a free throw by Trosper with 5:08 remaining in the period. But the Lady Rockets ran off a 9-0 run over the remainder of the quarter to put the matter to rest, as Shelby went into the fourth period leading by their biggest lead of the night, 52-29.

The final period was somewhat anticlimactic, as the Lady Rockets spread the floor on offense and limited the Lady Dragons’ opportunities on offense. When the final horn blew, Shelby had their second straight regional championship, and fourth in the last five years, 59-39.

South’s Staude, Trosper, and Vaughn were joined on the all-tournament team by Marshall, Slaughter, and Dawn Schlotterback of Shelby County. Oldham County’s Samantha Mosby also made the all-tournament team, among local squads. Shelby’s Toni Slaughter was named the tournament’s MVP.

NEXT ON SPORTSZONE RADIO – the BOYS’ SWEET 16

Oldham County vs. Powell County

Wednesday, March 19, 2003

11:30 am pregame

12 noon tip-off

105.7 FM WTSZ