Two quick threes by Edmonson County and two empty possessions on their end led to a 6-0 hole and a quick timeout for Daviess County. Having caught their breath, the Lady Panthers cut the lead to 10-9 entering the second quarter and took a 21-15 lead into the half. Out of the halftime break, they put on a suffocating defensive display – holding the Lady Cats to 14 second-half points – cruising to a 48-29 win.
“We were able to regroup at halftime and talk about a few things defensively,” Daviess County head coach Natalie Payne said. “We made it our main focus that it should be every possession. We started off a little slow with that, and we weren’t as locked in as I wanted us to be, but that happens.”
This win marked the first time since the 2011-2012 season Daviess County has advanced to the 3rd region semi-finals. They play Breckinridge County on Friday.
Zoey Beehn made her presence felt on both sides of the ball – leading her team in scoring with 21 points, while locking down the Lady Cats Cariann Williams. Averaging 18.8 points a game, Williams was held to just 10 points.
“Zoey was unbelievable and she has been unbelievable, but she was everywhere tonight,” Payne said. “Her defense stood out to me; just getting deflections and bodying Williams up. Williams is a great player and very athletic. Zoey did a great job, and our teammates helped. We had help side, and our rotations were solid, but I felt her presence alone affected Williams’s play.”
To reach the finals on Sunday, Payne wants her team to understand the value of possessions more and be able to execute in the half court. Standing in their way is Breckinridge County, who finished second in the region in the regular season and narrowly beat them 55-52 early on in the year.
“Breckinridge is tough. They have a lot of weapons and are very good defensively,” Payne said. “Elizabeth Grimes is one of the best point guards in the region, so we have a lot of work to do. But it is what it is. You only have two days. You kind of are who you are. You tweak a few things, but it will come down to defense and rebounding come tournament time.”
McLean County drops to Breckinridge County
Falling behind early 15-0 to Breckinridge County, McLean County was never able to fully recover, falling 56-26 in the quarterfinals of the 3rd region tournament.
“Going into tonight’s game, we knew we were playing a really tough team,” McLean County head coach Eli Ellis said. “They finished second in RPI, are really composed, and have some athletes. …We came out a little flat, like deer in the headlights, but we settled down in the second half. I was proud of our effort.”
After being shut out in the first quarter, the Lady Cougars Ella Larkin broke the scoreless drought to put her team on the board. Danielle Reynolds and Karlee Floyd also scored in the second quarter.
Trailing 25-7 at halftime, the Lady Cougars found their grove from deep in the second half, with Larkin, Katie McCoy, and Sarah Larkin all hitting threes. Ella Larkin scored five of her team-high eight points in the second half, while Sarah Larkin scored all five of her points down the stretch.
Despite finding their scoring touch, they had no answer defensively for Elizabeth Grimes and Josie Mitcham, who each finished with 14 points.
A relatively young team, McLean County is only losing four seniors and Ellis acknowledged the importance of his team soaking up playoff experience.
“The good thing about this year making the region tournament is we played two district games and the district championship,” Ellis said. “We played in the region tournament, and it is good experience to play at the high level. To get used to the atmosphere, the gameplay, and intensity. So hopefully, as we progress, we can keep making it back here.”
