Pulaski survives against Lady Rebels

Dec. 10—Starting off undefeated is never an easy task in high school basketball, but that's the position the Lady Maroons find themselves in so far this season, with junior Sydney Martin scoring in bunches so far to lead her team. The Maroons were tasked with defeating a district foe in Casey County on Friday night. The Rebels were a sneaky 2-2 heading into the contest, but led by the senior duo of Chloe Dunn and Madison Chansler, they are capable of keeping up with a majority of teams in the region.

A vast amount of turnovers defined the game for both teams, and although the Maroons held an early advantage, Casey County kept battling throughout the game. Pulaski would eventually pull away in the fourth quarter to take home a 69-55 victory.

The Lady Maroons got started quickly in the first quarter with a 10-4 spurt led by five points from Martin. Senior Aubrey Daulton scored an early three-pointer and junior Maggie Holt added another two points. Chansler answered with a quick five of her own and eventually the Maroons' lead was trimmed to just 14-11 midway through the quarter. Pulaski then went on a 7-0 run to close the quarter and take a 21-11 lead after four points from Jasper, two from Martin, and a made free throw from sophomore Sydney Resch.

Casey County didn't give up and soon found themselves right back in the game midway through the second quarter as they went on an 11-5 run to trim their deficit to 26-22. Chansler added four here for the Rebels, with junior Chelsea Reed, freshman Molly Gill, and Dunn also adding points during the run. Resch added a three-pointer early for the Lady Maroons.

The Lady Maroons, to their credit, didn't let this run phase them and ended the half on a high note, going on a 6-3 run to head into the break with a 32-25 lead. Martin scored all six of these points on two three-pointers, with Gill adding the three points for Casey County.

The third quarter was competitive between the two schools, although Pulaski would add to their lead and be in front 40-31 following seven quick points from freshman Brooklyn Thomas. It was quickly becoming the Thomas show in this period. Freshman Madeline Butcher scored the other Maroon point during this early part of the quarter on a free throw. Casey County's Dunn scored all six of the Rebels' six early points.

A 6-0 run from Casey County cut their deficit to just 40-37 late in the third quarter. Four of those points came from Chansler and the other two came from senior Macie Lee on a put back opportunity. As quickly as the Rebels made the game close, the Maroons increased their lead once again just as fast, as a 7-0 featuring five from Martin and two from junior Ana Muse. Two points from both Chansler and Reed saw the Pulaski lead sit at 47-41 heading into the final quarter.

The Lady Rebels got within five points at 49-44 early in the final period following two from freshman Elizabeth Forbes and one from Dunn, however that would be as close as they would be for the rest of the contest. Pulaski took complete control of the game with a 10-2 run to lead 59-46, with Butcher adding six off of two 'and-1' plays and Martin also chipping in four. The two teams spent the rest of the game trading buckets, with Pulaski scoring 10 and Casey County scoring 9. Thomas scored another six during this span for the Maroons, with Butcher and Holt each adding two. Dunn added three during these final few minutes for Casey, with Chansler, Reed, and freshman Aslan Wethington each scoring two. Pulaski earned the victory as the final buzzer sounded, winning by a score of 69-55 and maintaining their perfect record.

Pulaski was led in scoring by Sydney Martin, who scored 26 points during the game. Brooklyn Thomas scored 13 points in a solid performance for the freshman, with Madeline Butcher also adding 11 points. Other scorers for the Lady Maroons include Aubrey Daulton with seven, Sydney Resch with six, Maggie Holt with four, and Ana Muse with two. Chloe Dunn was the leading scorer for Casey County with 18 for the game.

Pulaski improves to 4-0 on the season and will play at South Laurel on Saturday in the Lisa Collins Classic. Tip time for that game will be at 5 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