With the 2015 boys’ basketball state championship team in attendance, Owensboro’s girls’ basketball team rode an impressive second quarter to a 75-31 win over Apollo. The first quarter was highlighted by Owensboro’s Unique Carter-Swanagan and Shalyn Sprinkles combining for 17 of their team’s 19 first-quarter points.
The E-Gals Aubrey Johnson and LaShay Vera scored all eight of their team’s first-quarter points. Owensboro pushed the lead to 24-10 early in the second quarter, but after a timeout, Apollo responded to cut the lead to seven. Needing to regain momentum, Sprinkles hit a three to put her team back up 10. Apollo would eventually cut the led to nine but that was the closest they could get before Owensboro found its stride.
In the last few minutes of the quarter, Owensboro’s defense took over the game – recording multiple steals, to take a commanding 43-21 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Lady Devils couldn’t seem to miss from deep – hitting five threes. Heleina John, Carter Swanagan, and Sprinkles combined for nine points in the third quarter, before all sitting out the fourth.
After hitting two threes in the third quarter, Avery Martin hit two more in the fourth – finishing with five threes on the night. Sprinkles led all scorers with 29, while Martin was second on Owensboro in scoring with 15 points. Carter Swanagan also finished in double-digits with 13 points and Abby Sapp recorded nine points.
For Apollo, Vera finished with a team-high 12 points and Johnson added nine points. Emerson Bullington (5), Tyler Grace Hall (3), and Jessica Lee (2) rounded out the team’s scoring.
Owensboro head coach Jansen Locher acknowledged his teams early struggles, but was proud of how they finished.
“I was disappointed with our defensive intensity early, but once we finally decided to play hard good things happened,” Locher said. “Sprinkles was great again on both ends of the floor. Avery Martin shot lights out tonight. This is only going to boost her confidence and make her more of a threat as we begin the final month of the season.”
After the game, Owensboro honored the boys’ 2015 state championship team for their 10th anniversary. Finishing 23-3 in the 2014-2015 regular season, the Red Devils lost in the 9th district championship game to Apollo, but eventually beat Meade County in the 3rd region championship. In the state tournament, they beat Collins, Hopkinsville, and Covington Catholic, before overcoming Bowling Green in the championship game 74-58.
