As the clock ticked to zero, Daviess County head coach Natalie Payne turned to her bench and embraced her starters one at a time, tears streaming down her face. Riding a dominant second-half defensive performance, the Lady Panthers beat Owensboro 75-60 – securing their spot in the 9th district championship and the 3rd regional tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Daviess County will play Owensboro Catholic in the championship game Thursday night.
Once the clock hit zero, the Lady Panthers streamlined for each other – embracing and letting out loud cheers as coach Payne looked on in awe.
“These kids deserve this, so I get emotional,” Payne said. “The seniors are really good kids and they worked really hard.”
In what turned into a runaway, started as a close battle between the longtime rivals. Owensboro took a 16-15 lead into the second quarter thanks to Shalyn Sprinkles scoring seven points. The Lady Panthers trio of Lily Hoagland, Zoey Beehn, and Kennedy Lane scored 13 of the team’s 15 first-quarter points.
Daviess County started the second quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 26-21 lead, but Owensboro responded with an 18-8 run to enter halftime leading 39-34. The Lady Panthers had no answer for Sprinkles, who scored 16 of her game-high 21 points in the first half.
Payne attributed halftime to part of her team’s second half comeback.
“It allowed us to calm down and see what we needed to focus on which was we have control over defense and rebounding,” Payne said. “The shots were going to fall and if we could contest a little bit better, I thought we could keep them from hitting shots or take their percentage down a bit.”
Owensboro head coach Jansen Locher acknowledged that in the second half Daviess County controlled the tempo, and his team was too aggressive at times defensively.
The Lady Panthers offense came alive in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Devils 22-12. Riley Hayden hit two threes, while Lane and Hoagland combined for 12 points. Daviess County’s defense began to create multiple turnovers, leading to easy baskets in transition.
As the Lady Panthers continued to attack and break down Owensboro’s defense, their shooters were left open from deep – sinking seven threes on the night.
Trailing 56-51 entering the fourth quarter, Owensboro cut the lead to three, but was unable to get any closer. The Lady Panthers Briley Henry added four of her 11 points in the fourth quarter, but when the team needed an answer, the trio of Hoagland, Lane, and Beehn delivered – combing for 15 points down the stretch.
“I thought we did a really good job in the second half with defensive intensity and not allowing them to have so many open looks,” Payne said. “We also rebounded better and that was the difference.”
Hoagland led Daviess County in scoring with 20 points, while Lane added 18 points, and Beehn 13. Hayden hit a team-high three threes and Henry was fourth on the team in scoring with 11 points.
Sprinkles led the Lady Devils in threes with four, while Keeley Harris scored nine of her 15 points in the first half. Unique Carter-Swanagan was third on the team in scoring with 10 points.
For Owensboro, they are a senior led team and will be losing six players to graduation.
“They are awesome. They have been with us and tonight they feel the lows of lows, but they have also experienced the highs of highs,” Locher said. “All year long we wanted to try and make it back to Rupp Arena and give us the chance to do that. I hate they don’t get that opportunity, but they have been some of the most successful seniors to walk the hallways of OHS. They are going to be successful in life no matter what they do, whether it is basketball-related or school-related. They are going to be so successful.”
Lady Aces take care of Apollo
The Lady Aces refused to allow Apollo the opportunity to prevent them from advancing back to the district championship – opening up the game on a 28-2 run. Apollo found their grove in the second quarter thanks in large to LaShay Vera scoring six of her eight points, but Owensboro Catholic closed the door in the second half – winning 79-26.
I thought we battled the entire game – Catholic just outclassed us in this one,” Apollo head coach Mike Riggs said. “They have a really good team and Coach Robertson does a great job with them.”
Owensboro Catholic head coach Michael Robertson was complimentary of the way Apollo attacked them from the opening jump.
“I thought Apollo did a really good job,” Robertson said. “They came out in a three-quarter quart press and tried to trap us. That is good because we need to see that and get after them. I really do think that is the best I have seen them and they have improved throughout the year.”
Aubrey Randolph and Taylor Mannahan combined for 14 points in the first quarter, while Karmin Riley, Braylin Clancy, Layla Martin, and Sophia Newby all contributed on the offensive end. Randolph continued her torrid shooting in the second quarter, adding nine of her game-high 19 points.
Due to his starters hot shooting, Robertson was able to give his bench extended playing time and he was pleased with their performance.
“I thought they all played well,” Robertson said. “They all came in and did exactly what I asked and shared the ball. They were selfless and weren’t worrying about who was scoring, instead looking for the open person.”
The Lady Aces shot 62% from the floor and 50% from deep, while holding Apollo to 10 made field goals. Newby finished with six points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists, while Riley hit three threes and added three assists, two steals, and one rebound. Randolph scored 19 points on 78% shooting from the field, while Mannahan added 16 points on 7-10 shooting.
The E-Gals Vera led the team in scoring with eight points, while Eriyah Curry and Emersyn Bullington both added six points.
It was a long season for Apollo, who dealt with injuries and growing pains at times and Riggs was candid after the game.
Obviously only winning two games for the season is tough,” Riggs said. “We’re really proud of the girls for sticking together through the struggles. Character is built through adversity, and we faced a lot of it the past few months. The good news for us is we had zero seniors and look to return everyone. The numbers for the program are good, which is a big step in the right direction for us. If the commitment is there this off season, and we get the girls to focus on improving physically, fundamental skills, chemistry, and basketball IQ, we’re optimistic next season we’ll be vastly improved.”
