Lady Maroons defeat Lady Jumpers in instant classic
Dec. 17—In a rematch of last season's 47th District Championship, the Lady Maroons of Pulaski squared off with the Lady Jumpers of Somerset. Both teams came into the contest sporting only one loss so far on the season, so it was expected to be a great matchup at the Briar Patch. Both teams were also missing a key starter, with Somerset's Jaelyn Dye out and Pulaski's Maggie Holt also missing the game due to injury.
Notably, it was a big game for Somerset's Grace Bruner, who was injured in a game against Pulaski last season. She explained before the game about her mindset heading into the contest.
"I am super excited to be able to play against them again. The environment the Somerset-Pulaski game brings is incredible and big games are what makes it fun. In this game, my team and I are just taking it as it's just another game and playing it like we do every other. Our goal is to play our game and focus on what we are good at, not worrying about the team across the floor," she explained.
The game certainly didn't disappoint, as it was close to the final minutes. Pulaski entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead at 40-37. A made free throw from Sophie Barnes trimmed that lead to two, before back-to-back buckets by Grace Bruner and Barnes gave Somerset a 42-40 lead. A two from Mackenzie Fisher increased that lead to 44-41, before two each from Brooklyn Thomas and Sydney Martin gave the Maroons back the lead at 45-44.
A two from Grace Bruner gave Somerset back the lead, with Mackenzie Fisher then hitting two from the line to increase the Jumper lead to 48-45 with time dwindling. A three-pointer by Hannah Murray tied the game up. Pulaski had the ball with less than 10 seconds on the clock when Thomas crashed the offensive glass and made the game-winning shot with contact, giving the Lady Maroons a 50-48 victory over their rivals. Thomas after the game said she knew she had to be in the right spot late.
"I knew I would have to shoot a quick shot if Sydney missed so I got the rebound and put it back up. Glad it went in! Big win for our team," she exclaimed.
Pulaski got out to a 6-1 lead in the first quarter following made three-pointers from Murray and Martin. It wasn't long before Somerset would lead, however, as they went on a 10-4 run to take charge at 11-10. Kate Bruner and Barnes each had threes during the run, with Haley Combs adding the other four points. Thomas then hit a three-pointer, followed by five straight points by Martin to close the quarter that gave the Maroons an 18-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
Martin scored the opening bucket in the next period, but the Jumpers responded with a 12-0 run to take the lead back at 23-20. Barnes scored five of those points, with Kate Bruner adding a three and Grace Bruner scoring two along with Kyndell Fisher.
Once again, Martin was a driving force getting Pulaski back in the game after five points, with Aubrey Daulton and Madeline Butcher each scoring two over the remainder of the quarter. Somerset countered with two of each from Grace Bruner and Kyndell Fisher, with Barnes and Mackenzie Fisher each adding one from the line. The teams were tied at 29-29 heading into the half.
The Jumpers scored the first three out of the break to take the lead back at 32-29. Four from Martin and a three from Butcher gave the Maroons a 36-32 lead following a 7-0 run. Kate Bruner went on a 5-0 run by herself that saw Somerset take back the lead. The Maroons closed the quarter with two from Murray and one each from Daulton and Thomas to take a 40-37 lead into the final period.
Pulaski was led in scoring by Sydney Martin who had a game-high 21 points. Freshmen Hannah Murray and Brooklyn Thomas both stepped up with eight points each, with Madeline Butcher scoring seven. Murray had four steals with five rebounds, with Thomas leading the team with seven rebounds. Aubrey Daulton had four for the game and Savannah Heist added two. Somerset was led in scoring by Sophie Barnes who had 14, while Kate Bruner was the other double-digit scorer with 11. Grace Bruner added nine points for the Jumpers and Mackenzie Fisher added six. Both Kyndell Fisher and Haley Combs had four points to finish off the scoring for Somerset.
Pulaski improves to 5-1 on the season and will next travel to Wayne County starting on Wednesday for the Lady Cardinal Christmas Classic, with their first game being against Bell County at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Somerset falls to 5-2 and will next be in action at the Arby's/KFC Classic hosted by McCreary Central starting on Monday. Their first game will be against Scott (Huntsville), TN, with tip scheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday.
Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PrattTheNation
