The full court press has been the calling card for Owensboro Catholic all season long and it was no different against Daviess County in the 9th district championship game Thursday evening. In the second quarter, the Lady Panthers had no answer for the press, continuously losing the ball – leading to easy baskets for the Lady Aces on the other end.
Their suffocating defensive performance allowed them to preserve a late lead, winning 58-50 for the team’s fourth straight district title.
“We wanted to get the tempo up, and we wanted the game going 94 feet,” Owensboro Catholic head coach Michael Robertson said. “We wanted to wear them down, wear them out, and make them tired and exhausted. But the problem was we kind of got a little tired and exhausted, but we fought through that.”
Leading by four early in the second quarter, Daviess County quickly found themselves trailing by double digits due to the press. But three massive threes by Riley Hayden and Lily Hoagland allowed the Lady aces to regain their composure and enter halftime only trailing 33-28.
Daviess County head coach Natalie Payne acknowledged that Owensboro Catholic’s defense covers plenty of ground and allows for their offense to work.
“I think we were just getting tunnel vision on one option when we need to be looking at multiple areas,” Payne said. “We were zeroed in on making the diagonal pass when it wasn’t there. We just have to understand there are multiple options to our multiple post breaks. We also have to learn to take them off the dribble when you see an opportunity.”
After being held scoreless in the first quarter, senior Riley Karmin scored five of her team-high 18 points in the second quarter. Aubrey Randolph added seven points in the first half, but it was the clutch shooting from Taylor Mannahan and Katie Hagan that allowed the Lady Aces to take control. The duo combined for 15 first half points.
“We are not a team that you can focus on one person,” Robertson said. “A lot of people like to just say Aubrey and Karmin. They are great athletes and players for us, but all of these freshmen and sophomores are doing a great job for us and playing well.”
In the second half, the Lady Panthers refused to go away and showcased why they are such a dangerous team. Kennedy Lane came alive in the third quarter, scoring 11 of her 21 points.
Owensboro Catholic entered the fourth quarter leading by eight, but Daviess County cut it to two possessions just a few minutes in. Daviess County forced four straight defensive stops, but were unable to capitalize on the other end.
“We had looks. I told the girls we didn’t take bad shots, and we had looks,” Payne said. “If a couple of those threes go down or a layup that rimmed out. There were several consecutive trips that were empty, but we had good looks.”
Playing the role of finisher, Riley put the game out of reach – hitting a massive three and finishing with seven points in the quarter.
Karmin hit four threes to go along with her 18 points, while Randolph (11) and Mannahan (10) both finished in double digits.
Lane led the way for Daviess County with 21 points and three rebounds, while Zoey Beehn recorded a double-double of 112 points and 12 rebounds. Hayden and Hoagland each hit two threes.
Both teams clinched spots in the 3rd regional tournament with the draw being announced Saturday morning. The tournament is being held this year at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
McLean County falls to Ohio County in 10th district championship game
The Lady Cougars struggled to find their offense early against Ohio County, and multiple defensive breakdowns down the stretch allowed the Lady Eagles to pull away 43-30. Karlee Floyd hit three threes to go along with her team-high 12 points, while Kenadi Level added eight points. Danielle Reynolds (4), Sarah Larkin and Ella Larkin (3) rounded out the teams’ scoring.
“We had a hard time getting our offense going tonight and had some key points in the game where we let Ohio County go on a fun from breakdowns in our defense,” McLean County head coach Eli Ellis said. “The girls played hard, but came up short against a solid Ohio County squad.”
