Girls State quarterfinals: Kittens go down swinging
Mar. 10—LEXINGTON — With the game hanging in the balance, McCracken County's Destiny Thomas drove the lane with the Mustangs clinging to a two-point lead.
The forward could not connect from in close and Ashland's Ella Sellars secured the rebound, hoping her team could find a tying basket on Friday night during the Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals.
Thomas's momentum carried her past the play but the senior managed to get her hands on the ball long enough for the baseline referee to call a jump ball.
McCracken County retained possession and scored a few seconds later with a bucket from Mikee Buchanan. It was a pivotal play because it was Ashland who had grabbed all the late momentum.
Gabby Karle put back in a miss to bring the Kittens back within two again, but Caroline Sivills hit two free throws after her teammates missed several attempts in the final minute from the charity stripe.
It was enough to preserve a 51-47 win at Rupp Arena. The Mustangs move on to Saturday's semifinals against the Louisville Mercy-Henderson County winner.
Ashland coach Stacy Davis said she was proud of her team and their refusal to quit.
"These girls have worked so hard," Davis said. "Our goal was to play on Saturday and to see them fall just one game short, I couldn't be more proud. No one expected us to even be at State. ... For these girls to come here and fight and battle with a chance to play on Saturday, it's huge."
McCracken County (34-2) could not shake the Kittens. The Mustangs maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half.
Briley Benton splashed a key 3-pointer to end the third quarter and found the range again early in the fourth to give McCracken County a 47-35 lead.
Ashland responded with a 10-0 run that included a pair of Sellars treys to bring her team within a bucket.
"We've been in that position before," Davis said, "more than we would like to be throughout the season. The girls never quit. The fight in them is always there and it will be there until the end."
The Mustangs haven't faced many close games. McCracken County's margin of victory on Friday was one of the closest it has faced this season. Coach Steve Sivills said his team found a way to win.
"Survive and advance," Sivills said. "Sometimes in tournament play, you have to find a way to survive and get to the next step. Give Ashland a lot of credit. They played with a lot of poise and confidence. They shot the ball very well and made some big shots."
"We missed a lot of easy shots," he continued. "There were a lot of layups that we usually make but again, we are at the highest stage of basketball. We made enough plays and that's what it's all about. Our girls stepped up and made plays when they had to make them."
The Kittens defense remained a wrench in the Mustangs' offensive gears. Ashland held McCracken County to 20 points under their season average.
"We came into this game knowing we had to lock them down," Jaidyn Gulley said. "They can all score. They are a really good team."
"We worked on it in practice," Kenleigh Woods added. "In the fourth quarter, we had to jump to the ball and be good on help defense. I felt we did that really well towards the end of the game. At first, we struggled, but we really stepped it up."
Sellars scored all nine points for the Kittens in the opening quarter. Woods scored 11 points in the second quarter to keep her team within 10 points at halftime after McCracken County produced its best offensive quarter in the second with 24 points.
Sellars had a game-high 20 points for Ashland (26-8) and was 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Woods tallied 17 points and continually played downhill in the second half before fouling out in the final minute.
Woods was named to the state All-Tournament team.
The Mustangs looked to break away from the Kittens after halftime but could never stray their grasp. McCracken County maintained a double-digit lead before the final Ashland rally.
The Mustangs missed its chances to put the game away late, but will still continue their historic run in the Sweet Sixteen. McCracken County will play its first state semifinal game in program history.
"Free throw shooting is a lost art across high school, college and NBA," Steve Sivills said. "Usually, we make our free throws, but tonight, we didn't. It almost cost us. We are doing things that we have never done in school history. We are breaking down barriers and breaking down doors. It's tough for a school like us. We have great senior leadership."
Ashland returns the majority of its roster next year and Sellars sees the state tournament experience as motivation for a return trip to Rupp Arena.
"Most of us are coming back, so we will keep building up our sisterhood," Sellars said. "We will get back in the gym together, keep working hard, get back to the same place and hopefully get to Saturday next time. In the end, only one team ends on a win. Everybody else has to fall once. We have to accept it as a team and move on together."
MCCRACKEN CO. FG FT REB TP
Sivilis 5-7 2-2 6 14
Johnson 6-9 1-5 3 13
Thomas 3-8 4-5 4 10
Buchanan 4-8 0-2 3 8
Bufford 0-0 0-0 2 0
Benton 2-2 0-0 0 6
Hill 0-0 0-0 0 0
Team 1
TOTAL 20-34 7-14 19 51
FG Pct: 58.8. FT Pct: 50.0. 3-point FGs: 4-6 (Sivilis 2-3, Buchanan 0-1, Benton 2-2) PF: 11. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: 14.
ASHLAND FG FT REB TP
Woods 7-13 1-4 3 17
Karle 1-6 0-0 4 2
J. Gulley 3-7 0-0 5 6
Sellars 6-13 5-7 5 20
A. Gulley 0-1 0-0 0 0
Duckwyler 0-0 0-0 0 0
Delaney 1-2 0-0 3 2
Team 3
TOTAL 18-42 6-11 26 47
FG Pct: 42.9. FT Pct: 54.5. 3-point FGs: 5-13 (Woods 2-4, Karle 0-4, Sellars 3-4, A. Gulley 0-1) PF: 13. Fouled out: Woods. Turnovers: 13.
MCCRACKEN CO. 8 24 12 7 — 51
ASHLAND 9 13 11 14 — 47
Officials: Michael Melton, Jamian Bailey, Jessie Mahaffey
(606) 326-2654
