The 9th Ranked Shelby County Lady Rockets and the 11th Ranked Oldham County Lady Colonels waged a knock-down, drag-out war in Buckner for the right to advance to the 8th Region Final.  Shelby County won, but by the narrowest of margins.

Both teams came into the game 25-5 on the season.  The Lady Colonels, champions of the 31st District, and the Lady Rockets, winners in the 30th, came in ranked #1 (Shelby) and #2 (Oldham) in the Region.  Both had posted impressive wins in the first round:  Oldham trounced Spencer County, 54-19, while Shelby defeated the Walton-Verona Lady Cats (23-7 on the season), 78-62.

Both teams featured deep benches and sterling defenses.  The Lady Colonels' press had deflated opponents all year, and Tanesha Johnson of Shelby County had turned into a one-person defensive stopper who had haunted the best in the state all year.

Not surprisingly, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair.  Oldham sported the biggest lead of the night - six points - on two separate occasions.

After Oldham's Lydia Purvis scored to start the game, Shelby County outscored the Lady Colonels, 7-1, to take a 7-3 lead with 4:05 left in the first period.  It would be the biggest Lady Rocket lead of the night.  But a Rebecca Husband basket and two free throws by Sarah Gibson tied the score at 7, and the two regional heavyweights began their slugfest.  From that point - 2:34 left in the first - until the end of the half, there would be only two times when a team scored back-to-back baskets without the opponent scoring in between.  The first half featured nine ties, the final one coming when 6'4" Shelby County senior center Lenita White scored with 1:30
left in the half to tie the game at 25.

With Oldham stars Lydia Purvis (17.5 ppg) and Brandi Miller (14.5 ppg) struggling in the first half (3 points and 4 points, respectively), the Lady Colonels turned to their bench for help.  The bench, which had not scored much in the previous three post-season games, responded with 15 first-half points, led by sophomore Rebecca Husband, who had seven first-half points.  And, despite a tough first half shooting (32.1%), Oldham hit 6 of 7 free throws (85.7%) to keep up.

Eryn Jacobson opened the third period with a three-pointer at the 6:25 mark to push Oldham in front, 28-25.  Moments later, she hit another, pushing Oldham County to a 31-27 lead.  After a White field goal, Sarah Gibson and Jacobson each scored to give the Lady Colonels a six point advantage at 35-29.  But Shelby's Dana Crittenden scored at the 2:03 mark, and after a Lady Colonel turnover, White hit two free throws with 16.3 seconds left in the period to pull the Lady Rockets to within two at 35-33.  Jacobson, who had not scored in the first half, scored eight of the Lady Colonels' ten points in the third.

The two teams started the final quarter on even terms.  After the two teams traded baskets, Lenita White followed up a missed shot by Tanesha Johnson to tie the game at 37 with just over seven minutes to play.  But Oldham County would dominate the next four minutes, with Husband scoring on a three pointer, Purvis scoring at the 5:35 mark, and Miller hitting one free throw, to give Oldham a 43-37 lead with 2:43 left.  To further complicate things for Shelby, star guard/forward Samantha Newton picked up her fourth foul.

Enter freshman Charlotte Marshall.  On Shelby's next possession, she hit a three from the corner to trim Oldham's lead to three, 43-40.  After an Oldham turnover, Newton hit a basket with 1:12 left to cut the lead to one.

Miller scored for Oldham at the 1:02 mark to push the lead to three again, but Tanesha Johnson scored two free throws to again draw the Lady Rockets to within one at 45-44, with 49.3 seconds to go.

After an Oldham County time out, the Lady Colonels threw the ball away on the ensuing out of bounds play, and Tanesha Johnson turned the steal into a layup and a one point Shelby lead, 46-45.  But Rebecca Husband took the ball the length of the court and scored on a layup of her own to push the Lady Colonels back out on top, 47-46, with 30 seconds left.

Sixteen seconds later, Dana Crittenden scored to give Shelby a 48-47 advantage, and Oldham promptly turned the ball over.  A foul put Tanesha Johnson at the line, but she missed the front end of the bonus, giving Oldham one final chance.  But Husband's desparation three at the buzzer was short, and Shelby had persevered.

UNOFFICIAL STATS:

Oldham County           17      8       10      12      -       47
Shelby County             15      10        8     15      -       48

Oldham County - Husband 14, Jacobson 8, S. Gibson 6, Miller 7, Purvis 5,
Hedges 4, Tyler 3, Hadley 0, H. Gibson 0

Shelby County - Newton 12, White 12, Crittenden 10, Morrison 5, Johnson 4,
Marshall 3, Team 2

Shelby County (26-5) will take on Scott County (13-19) in the 8th Region girls' final, Tuesday night, March 14, 2000 at 7:30 pm.  WXLM 105.7 FM and WTHQ 101.7 FM will air the pre-game show beginning at 7:00 pm.
 

SCOTT COUNTY STUNS BULLITT CENTRAL, 62-53

Scott County rode a strong second quarter to a nine-point win over the Bullitt Central Lady Cougars in the second semi-final game.

After the Lady Cougars - specifically, Amber Coy - scored four straight points to open the game, the Scott County Lady Cardinals scored seven unanswered points to take the lead - for good.  Although Liz Crigler would score before the end of the quarter to trim the lead to one, 7-6, BC would never catch up.

Ignoring the Cougars' significant height advantage, the quicker Lady Cards beat them to the ball, forced eleven first-half turnoves, limited the Lady Cougars to 31.8% shooting (7 of 22), and created foul situations.  Six Lady Cardinals scored in the second quarter, as Scott County built a 25-17 halftime edge.  Two 6-0 runs during the second quarter secured the lead.

After Staci Hunt scored to cut the lead to six to start the second half, the Cardinals scored five unanswered points to push the lead into double figures, 30-19.  But with the score 32-23, freshman sensation Anna Fraley hit a three for the Lady Cards, followed by two free throws by L'erin Scott and one from Margaret Snowden to push the lead to fifteen, 38-23, the biggest of the night, with 1:09 left in the third.

Bullitt Central, however, wasn't about to give up, and the Lady Cougars furiously mounted a rally, outscoring the Lady Cardinals, 8-2 to end the period, trailing 40-31.

A three by Kelly Proffit to begin the court trimmed the lead to a mere six, 40-34, before Stacey Tackett scored on back-to-back baskets to push the margin back to double digits, 44-34.  Crigler and Hunt each scored to again cut the lead to six, but the freshman, Fraley, responded with two free throws to again push the Lady Cards out in front by eight.

The Lady Cougars would make one final rally, and when Ashley Reynolds knocked in an improbable bank shot for three points with 44.2 seconds left, the lead was six again at 56-50.  But the Lady Cardinals sealed it at the line, hitting all six of their free throws in the final 39.5 seconds to clinch the victory.

UNOFFICIAL SCORING:

Bullitt Central         -       6       11      14      22      -       53
Scott County    -       7       18      15      22      -       62

BC - Crigler 14, Hunt 14, Proffitt 11, Coy 4, Freeman 4, Reynolds 3,
McCubbins 2, Schuler 1
SC - Fraley 16, Washington 10, Tackett 8, Stakelin 8, Scott 7, Hawkins 6,
Snowden 3, Garrett 2

Reported by: Mike Montgomery