Lady Warriors shoot lights out, defeat Pulaski in crosstown battle
Jan. 13—The Lady Warriors were in an unfamiliar position heading into their game against their rivals in the Pulaski County Lady Maroons, as they were considered the underdog by many local pundits. For head coach Junior Molden, he and his team thrive on being in that position though. The Maroons on the other hand, are experiencing a great season so far, getting out to a solid 12-2 record. Pulaski needed some of their younger players to step up in this one, however, as Maggie Holt was out due to an injury sustained in practice.
The two bitter rivals battled early before the skies seemed to open up for Southwestern. The Lady Warriors at point seemed like they couldn't miss from three-point range and rode that hot shooting to a dominant 70-44 win over the Lady Maroons. Coach Molden was very pleased with how hard his team played but also gave praise to the Maroons for their effort.
"Pulaski has deserved every bit of the press they have gotten this season from media outlets. We had a few extra days to prepare this week which really helped us. I thought defensively as a whole, our team played well. Kaylee Young battled so hard against one of the top players in our state, Sydney Martin. She is impossible to completely stop, but we just tried to do our best to make her work hard for everything she got. Everyone that played tonight was ready to compete," he explained.
Ayden Smiddy scored the first five points of the game for Southwestern before a two from Madeline Butcher and a three from Hannah Murray tied the game up at 5-5. This was the closest the Maroons came to the Warriors for the entire ballgame.
A 10-0 run for the home team followed, with both Smiddy and Kinsley Molden hitting a three-pointer, Kaylee Young scoring a two and both Payton Acey and Jessalyn Flynn hitting one from the line. Brooklyn Thomas did hit a three for the Maroons late in the quarter, but five more from Smiddy kept the Warriors well out in front, with Southwestern being in charge 22-9 at the end of the first period. Young was strong on the defensive front in the period, recording three steals and a block.
Two early threes from Acey and Molden kept increasing the Southwestern lead in the second quarter, with Butcher and Sydney Resch scoring two each to prevent a total blowout. Another three from Smiddy and four from Acey gave Southwestern a 37-15 lead at the break. The Warriors' defense was impressive during the period, only allowing six points from the Maroons, and also allowed them to go on a 9-0 run at the end of the quarter. Sydney Martin, one of the leading scorers in the county, was held to just two points.
Martin opened the third quarter on a tear, scoring five points early to cut into a bit of the deficit the Maroons had built for themselves. Threes from Smiddy, who continued her blazing hot start, and Young kept the Warriors in firm control, however. Martin scored another three before the end of the quarter as well.
The Warriors ended up outscoring Pulaski 8-2 at the end of the period as they saw their lead grow to 25 points at 56-31. Both Kiara Scott and Flynn scored a two, with Smiddy and Molden hitting a three-pointer each to keep the Warriors in full control. Aubrey Daulton scored the last two for Pulaski County.
The fourth quarter opened with another basket from Martin before a quick five from Molden and two from Flynn increased Southwestern's lead to 30 points. Smiddy scored another five after this before the Maroons brought the score a bit closer before the end of the game with a 7-2 run. Thomas scored four, with Martin scoring two off a jump shot and Murray adding one from the free throw line. Acey added a late basket for Southwestern before the final buzzer hit about two minutes later, with the Lady Warriors celebrating a 70-44 victory over the Lady Maroons.
Southwestern was led by a game-high 27 points from Ayden Smiddy, as well as double digit performances from Kinsley Molden and Payton Acey with 17 and 12 respectively. Kaylee Young added seven, Jessalyn Flynn scored five and Kiara Scott chipped in two for the Lady Warriors
Pulaski was led by 16 points from Sydney Martin, as well as seven each from Brooklyn Thomas and Aubrey Daulton. Madeline Butcher scored six and Hannah Murray added four, with both Sydney Resch and Savannah Heist scoring two.
Southwestern improves to 9-7 with the victory and will host the Somerset Lady Jumpers at the Wig Wam on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Coach Molden is ready to play the Jumpers but said that his team has to be focused to pull out the win.
"I'm worried about our legs a bit but Somerset had a big game tonight as well so that can't be any excuse tomorrow. Coach McWhorter has done a fantastic job there since taking over and I expect a competitive battle from her group. We can't expect to shoot 60% from three again tomorrow, so the little things will be huge for us to have a shot at winning tomorrow," he stated.
Pulaski County falls to 13-3 for the season and will be in action again on Saturday as they will play Daviess County in the House Insurance Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout hosted by Hancock County. Game time for that contest will be at 2 p.m.
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
