Monday: March 3rd
Bardstown (14-14) v. Adair County (17-12)
Bardstown enters as the champions of the 19th district, after knocking off Nelson County 54-48, completing a season sweep of the Cardinals. Adair County enters with a better record overall, but played a weaker non-district schedule than Bardstown, who played the 2nd hardest schedule of the 8 teams remaining alive in tournament play.
Expect a high scoring effort from freshman Ella Buckman who enters averaging 19 points per game across her 27 appearances, good for 3rd among players in the 5th Region Tournament. For Adair to advance to Thursday’s semifinals, containing Buckman and Senior Rowan Walls and needing strong performances from their Big 3 in Kinzlee Akin, Reese Bardin, and Ila Loy. Adair holds a slight statistical advantage over Bardstown in almost every category, except 3-point shooting, but the obvious question is how much was Bardstown’s more difficult schedule a factor in their output through the season. This figures to be a very even match-up and an exciting one to open the tournament.
Green County (23-6) v. Central Hardin (19-9)
Green County knocked of Hart County for a third time to claim the 18th District Championship, 65-34 in LaRue County on Friday to claim a top line in the Region Quarterfinals, but they draw on paper the 2nd best District Runner-up in Central Hardin (who hold a win over the statistical leader among Runner-Ups Nelson County).
The Bruins got a lift in the semifinals from junior Graci Blair and will need another strong performance from her, or another member of their supporting cast to knock off Green County in the nightcap for the first night of the tournament. Juliana Stith was stifled in the district tournament, dealing with physical, high-pressure defense from John Hardin’s Lily White, who held her to just 12 points, and Elizabethtown’s hyper-athletic guard trio of Maliah Courtney, Miyah Courtney, and Maebrie Cochran, but still managed a nearly 30-point effort in the district final an impressive scoring output in the final. If no one from Green County can contain her scoring, it could be a long night for the Lady Dragons; and if they are unable to keep Kaitlyn Huggins off the glass, the night may get longer. Huggins is averaging 20.5 rebounds per game in her two post season appearances. Freshman Kayla Scout Brockman of Green County will have the tall task of keeping Huggins off the glass, and will need support from Chloe Fortner and Molly Dixon, who combined have only averaged 3.4 more rebounds than Huggins alone across the regular season.
Tuesday: March 4th
Elizabethtown (23-6) v. Hart County (5-25)
Elizabethtown dominated the second half of Friday’s 17th District Championship, notching a 20 point win over Central Hardin 78-58. Hart County will have their hands full with 17th District Freshman of the Year Maliah Courtney, who dazzled the Panther faithful with another 30+ point scoring effort in that game, being named the Most Outstanding Player for the championship game. Hart County, the only sub-.500 team in the region field, will need an all-time performance from basically their entire team to keep up with the onslaught of pressure defense they’ll face from E’town. Even despite the random draw, this match truly has a #1 v. #16 vibe.
The Panthers must not get caught looking to Thurday’s semifinal, and a potential rematch against Taylor County, lest they fall victim to a March Madness-level “David v. Goliath” upset.
Taylor County (21-8) v. Nelson County (18-11)
Many would have told you entering the season that Bethlehem was the prohibitive favorite to win the 5th Region, with Taylor County a close second behind them. Leah Macy’s injury, and a stunning defeat at the hands of the Nelson County Cardinals derailed that prediction with a stunning result in the 19th district semifinals, before falling to Bardstown by 6 points in the district final. Taylor County, who seemed destined to face crosstown rival Campbellsville for the crown in the 20th instead defeated Adair County, after their upset bid over the Lady Eagles in the opening round of the 20th district tournament.
Nelson will need to take advantage of the mismatch Megan Simpson can give them in the interior to kill another giant in post-season play, but containing Taylor’s potent line-up on defense will be as tall a task as they faced in their matchup against Bethlehem, if not taller.
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