SPARKS AND RECREATION: The roundball Stars will be out in June

Apr. 30—Haven Ford has always been the one player that opposing teams had to focus on during a basketball game.

The Rowan County senior gets to wear a cherished number on her uniform at the 2023 Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game in June.

Ford will adorn the No. 1 jersey for the Kentucky team as the reigning Miss Basketball in the bluegrass. Ford understands the significance of the moment and appreciates all the legendary players that have worn the same number before her.

"It's going to be a surreal moment," Ford said. "Knowing the history and having the opportunity to wear that No. 1 and the players that have worn it in the past, I just want to take it all in when the time comes and enjoy it. It will be my last high school event. I will enjoy each minute on the court. I look forward to it. I can't wait."

Ford has plenty of experience playing in All-Star games. She's already played in the Kentucky-Ohio showcase of star players at Thomas More University on April 8. Ford had 19 points in the game as Kentucky defeated Ohio, 117-94.

Several of her teammates from that night are part of the Kentucky All-Star roster for the Indiana games. The boys and girls team will play their annual two-game series on June 9 and 10.

The first game will be at the Owensboro Sports Center. Play will resume the next night at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers and the Fever of the NBA and WNBA.

"I just want to go in and do anything that will help the team in a positive way," Ford said, "whether that is playing defense, setting my teammates up, or score when I need to. I don't want to overthink it or do too much. I just want to go out there and have fun."

"It also helps that I've played with several players in AAU too," she added. "Just having that connection and being on the court together, it's not hard to figure out their style of play. You already know it having previously played with them."

The All-Star coaching staff will have eastern Kentucky well-represented. Boyd County's Pete Fraley will be the head coach. Former Fleming County and current Pikeville coach Kristy Orem will be one of the assistants along with Boyd County's Logan Wallace and Danville's Judie Mason.

Fraley coached the junior All-Stars last year and was an assistant for the senior team.

"It's a unique opportunity to be able to take the top talent from seniors in the state and put them together (to play)," Fraley said. "The problem right now is that we don't have enough practice time. It used to be a week-long process and they got to bond a little bit. We are going to try and throw together two to three practices."

The All-Star team will compete against the junior Kentucky All-Stars on June 3 at Eastern High School in Louisville before testing their skills against the top players in the Hoosier state, led by Indiana Miss Basketball, Laila Hall, who has signed with North Carolina.

Fraley expects the junior All-Star lineup to be announced soon.

Indiana leads the overall series, 52-40, and the two teams split the series in 2022. Fraley wants to bring the excitement back to these special games. Kentucky's main objective will be a sweep.

"Indiana puts a lot of time and energy into this game," Fraley said. "Last year, when we played in Owensboro, we had a nice crowd. But when we went to Indiana, we played in a high school gym that seated 7,200. I would say there were over 5,000 people in the gym. After the Kentucky-Ohio game, it loses a little bit of its luster. That's not taking anything away from the Kentucky-Ohio game. Randy and Kelly Ward and Mike Thoroughman have gone a great job with it. It's a wonderful experience."

Both Fraley and Ford said they look forward to sharing the same sideline again on the All-Star stage.

"It's great having Pete as my coach," said Ford, who has signed with Murray State. "We've had our battles against each other in the region, but it's good to have him as a coach because I feel our style of play is similar. It will be easy to adjust to that. He likes to play fast, defend and score a lot of points."

"I can give her the ball and get out of the way," Fraley added about Ford. "She's a phenomenal talent. Last year, we were down to the Indiana junior All-Stars by 23 points in the fourth quarter. Her, Kensley Feltner and Brianna Byars at George Rogers Clark, were our best players and part of the final five kids in the game. We ended up losing by one point. Haven is so good. My job is to give them a little direction and just get out of the way."

Tickets for all games will be available on May 5 at kentuckybasketballcoaches.org.

S'More Sports

— District play is starting to wind down for baseball and softball teams in our area.

Ashland won the pivotal first baseball meeting against rival Boyd County on a Jayce Mays walk-off hit. The Tomcats will be the top seed in the 64th District Tournament.

The Boyd County softball team won both meetings against Ashland and Fairview and will carry the top spot in the district into the postseason.

— The 63rd District is still considered the toughest and most competitive—from top to bottom— in the 16th Region. Two-time defending region champion Lewis County couldn't wrap up the best record on the softball side after falling to Greenup County on the road Thursday night. The Lions will have that opportunity when it hosts Russell on Tuesday.

The Red Devils have three more district games. Russell, Raceland and Greenup County are still fighting for seeding placement.

Greenup County won its first four district games and will face a baseball backyard brawl tonight and Tuesday against Russell. The Red Devils split a pair of games with Raceland last week to keep their hopes alive for the top seed. Russell came from six down with seven runs in its final two at-bats on Monday for the win.

— In the 62nd District, East Carter has clinched the softball top seed. The Raiders meet Morgan County tonight and Tuesday to settle the No. 1 baseball seed. Both teams sport 4-0 records. If they split the next two games, the second tiebreaker is the runs allowed from those two contests, according to the KHSAA.

— Bath County and Rowan County split their two seeding games in the 61st District, but the Vikings get the top seed after allowing the fewest runs in the two meetings.

Rowan County posted a perfect district record and will be the top team in the baseball tournament.

— The state archery tournament was held on April 18 in Bowling Green. Several archers followed a strong showing in the Region 11 tournament to post top finishes on the state stage.

Rose Hill Christian's Brennan Stephens scored a 289 and placed 20th out of 265 competitors. Fleming County's Logan Bretz was 56th.

In the girls competition, Fleming County was well-represented by Moira Richardson (285) and Mackenzie Conley (283), who finished in 34th and 47th place, respectively, out of 289 state archers.

Area teams still have plenty of archery remaining. Several will be slinging their arrows, including Rose Hill and Russell, at the NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program) Eastern Nationals on May 11-13 in Louisville.

— Kentucky Christian University hired Jason Aubry as its next football coach on Friday.

With a strong belief in Jesus Christ and 23 years of coaching experience, 20 as a head coach, Aubry is well-equipped to lead the team toward success, according to athletic director, David Manning, on the team's website.

Aubry has coached at the high school and college level. He started his career at Woodland High School in Streator, Illinois, in 1999. He coached Concordia University Chicago to the program's best record in 2019 during a seven-year stretch.

Reach MATTHEW SPARKS at msparks@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654. Follow @SparksWillFly35 on Twitter.

Reach MATTHEW SPARKS at msparks@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654. Follow @SparksWillFly35 on Twitter.