It wasn't a great night for the South Oldham Dragon fans at the 31st District Tournament in Carrollton.  First the Lady Dragons took it on the chin versus county rival Oldham County, then the Trimble County Raiders upset the boys' team, 57-51, in overtime.

GIRLS - Oldham County 56, South Oldham 47 - The Oldham County Lady Colonels, the District favorite, had beaten South Oldham twice during the season, by nine in overtime in the Male Invitational and by 20 in Buckner. But this was a typical Oldham - South Oldham matchup, which meant that records and past games were completely irrelevant.

The two teams battled to a virtual standoff in the first quarter, with the Lady Dragons leading after eight minutes, 13-12.  The Lady Colonels shot poorly from the field, hitting only 5 of 16 shots, and their two leading scorers, Lydia Purvis and Brandi Miller, were a combined 2 of 9 against the aggressive South Oldham defense.  In fact, the leading scorer in the first
period was Sara Hadley of Oldham County, who hit three of four shots - the only shots she took in the game - to lead all scorers with six points.

Miller, however, was putting on a one-woman show on the boards, and that work began to pay off in the second quarter, when she scored five points.  With Brandi grabbing offensive rebounds and scoring on putbacks, the Lady Colonels edged out in front, 24-23, at the half.

Early in the third quarter, with 5:53 showing and Oldham up 28-24, the Lady Dragons took a time out and re-organized.  Moments later, after a Laura Penner jumper and a Penner layup, the score was tied.  After Jessie Tyler scored for Oldham to send the Lady Colonels back on top by 2, Amy Sample hit a three and Lindsey Byrd scored for South to push the Lady Dragons ahead by three, 33-30.  Brandi Miller scored and hit a free throw to tie, but Emily Cobb hit two free throws and another bucket by Sample gave South their largest lead of the night at 37-33 with 2:42 left in the third.

After an OC time-out, the two teams kept each other off the scoreboard until Brandi Miller scored at the :02 mark of the third period to pull Oldham within two at 37-35.

That was the beginning of what would turn into a nine point Oldham County run.  While South continued what would become a six minute scoring drought, Oldham began to press its advantage.  Tyler scored to tie the game at 37, and when Amy Sample committed her fourth foul with 7:03 to go, Sarah Gibson gave Oldham County the lead for good at 38-37.

Sample went to the bench, a loss that hurt South deeply.  A defensive ace, Sample led the Lady Dragons in steals and deflections, and it had been she who had harrassed Oldham star Lydia Purvis into 4 of 12 shooting in the first three quarters.  Purvis, averaging 18 points per game, had only eight going into the final quarter.  Not only had Sample provided her usual
sterling defensive performance, but she had also scored eleven points, tops for South.

With Sample on the bench, Miller and Purvis each scored to push the Oldham lead to 42-37 before South could finally get back on the board on a layup by Melissa Hayes with 5:10 left in the ballgame.  It was the  Lady Dragons' first field goal in the fourth period.

A three-pointer by Rebecca Husband and a basket by Miller sandwiched three Lady Dragon free throws, giving Oldham a 47-42 lead, when, with 2:26 to go, Amy Sample fouled out.  To add insult to injury, the foul sent Lydia Purvis, an 82% free throw shooter, to the line.  Purvis hit both, beginning a long series of trips to the charity stripe for Oldham County, as South
fouled repeatedly.  With Purvis hitting eight of ten free throws, and Miller hitting one of two, the Lady Colonels pulled away at the stripe, eventually leading by twelve points at 56-44, before Ashley Trosper hit a three at the buzzer for South Oldham to account for the final score.

Oldham County advances to the final on Saturday night at 7 pm against the winner of Thursday night's game between Trimble County and Gallatin County.  WXLM 105.7 FM coverage will begin on Saturday at 6:30 pm with the pre-game show.  Coverage of the Trimble-Gallatin game will begin on Thursday at 5:30pm.

UNOFFICIAL WXLM stats:

Oldham County - Miller 19, Purvis 18, Hadley 6, Husband 6, Tyler 6, S. Gibson 1
South Oldham - Sample 11, Byrd 10, Hayes 9, Penner 9, Cobb 5, Trosper 3
 

BOYS - TRIMBLE COUNTY 57, SOUTH OLDHAM 51 (Overtime) - South came into this game the slight favorite, but there were ominous signs that an upset was brewing.

For one thing, the Dragons had had a tough year.  When the outside shots were following, the scrappy Dragons were tough to beat.  When the shots wouldn't fall, the short South Oldham squad had trouble staying in the game.  For another thing, the Trimble County Raiders were on a roll. Trimble County - coached by former Oldham County star Doug Oak - had started the season poorly.  In fact, South had beaten Trimble by 16 last December.  But the Raiders had turned their season around, finishing at the .500 mark.

The first quarter was - surprise! - the Aaron Broyles/Pat Michels show.  The two seniors had led the team all season, with Michels averaging 19.1 points per game and Broyles averaging 14.2.  So it was no surprise when both players scored five points as the Dragons took a 10-8 first quarter advantage.

This continued in the second quarter.  With South leading, 18-14 (Michels 10, Broyles 8), Trimble started their rally.  Unlike South, which saw 20 of its 22 first-half points scored by two players, the Raiders spread the wealth around.  In fact, the first six scores by Trimble County were made by six different players!

A key moment in the second quarter came at the 5:24 mark when Pat Michels picked up his second foul and headed for the bench for the remainder of the half.  With their leading scorer and rebounder on the bench, South was outscored 9-4 the remainder of the half.

After Aaron Broyles staked South to a 22-18 lead, Trimble scored the final five points of the half, with senior guard Ty Webb - the only Trimble senior to play - hitting two free throws just before the half to give Trimble a 23-22 halftime advantage.

The beginning of the second half brought more bad news for South.  Michels picked up his third foul just 18 seconds into the third quarter, and Trimble scored the first nine points of the half, completing a 14-0 run from the second quarter to the third.  South didn't score in the second half until the 3:21 mark in the third, when Aaron Broyles hit two free throws.  After Ty Webb hit one of two free throws, buckets by T. J. Beisner and Aaron Broyles brought South to within five at 33-28, but a three
pointer by Justin Clifford at the buzzer pushed Trimble ahead by eight at 36-28.

Whatever South Oldham coach Jeff Griffin said before the fourth quarter must have struck a chord, because the Dragons came out for the final quarter inspired.  They opened the quarter with an 8-2 run that cut the Raider lead to two at 38-36.  After the two teams traded baskets, and a Trimble time out with 3:38 left, Justin Clifford - who scored 9 of Trimble's 11 fourth-quarter points - hit two free throws at the 3:25 mark to give the Raiders a 42-39 lead.  Moments later, an Aaron Broyles three gave South its first lead since the first half at 43-42.

Trimble immediately regrouped, with Clifford and Evan Ogburn scoring back-to-back baskets.  Beisner and Michels answered with two scores for South, and the Dragons headed into the final minute, leading 47-46.  Clifford - who attempted 15 free throws on the night - hit one of two with 31.2 seconds left to tie it at 47.  After missing the second shot, a jump ball was called during the battle for the rebound, and Trimble won the ball on the alternating possession rule.  But Travis Broyles stole the inbounds pass, and South set up for the final shot.

Good defense from Trimble kept the ball out of Michels' and Aaron Broyles' hands, however, and Matt Kennedy's off-balance three-pointer missed at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.

South drew first blood in the extra period as Chris Skelton hit two free throws.  After Clifford hit one of two free throws for Trimble, Travis Broyles scored the only field goal of the overtime period to give South a 51-48 lead.

But Trimble repeatedly found gaps in the Dragon defense and drove the lane and the baseline, generating fouls and parading to the free throw line.  They would score the last nine points of the game - all at the line - to win pulling away.

South had their chances.  With 1:06 to go and Trimble leading, 52-51, Kennedy missed a three and the ball went out of bounds to the Raiders.  With 34.1 seconds left and Trimble's lead at three, 54-51, Skelton missed a three and Trimble rebounded.  Two free throws by Zak Ellis and one by Eugene Wilson in the final half-minute sealed South's fate.

UNOFFICIAL WXLM STATS:

Trimble County - Clifford 22, Ogburn 13, Ellis 8, Wilson 6, Webb 5, Stethon3
South Oldham - A. Broyles 20, Michels 17, T. Broyles 7, Beisner 5, Skelton 2

Trimble County will play in the boys' championship on Friday night at 7 pm; coverage of the final will begin at 6:30 on WXLM.  The Raiders will play the winner of the Oldham County - Carroll County game on Thursday night.

Reported by: Mike Montgomery