Forty seconds to play, down by two. Spencer Harvey dribbled near midcourt, letting the clock wind down. At 10 seconds, she drove and kicked out to a wide open Madelyn Lyon, who buried the game-winning 3-pointer for Owensboro Catholic.
It was a simple play that sent the Lady Aces past defending champion Murray with a 42-41 victory in the All “A” Classic state tournament quarterfinals Friday, but Lyon knew what was at stake.
“I was just thinking we need one more shot to win the game and I didn’t want to lose,” she said. “I knew I had to make it. My teammates had confidence in me. I knew Murray wasn’t going to guard me, so I had to have confidence in myself to get my team this win.”
Head coach Michael Robertson never doubted the senior. During the timeout before the play, he told Harvey that Lyon would be open for the 3. He told Harvey to do the right thing — either drive and score or kick it out — and she went for the assist.
“There wasn’t much to it other than I had faith in (Madelyn),” Robertson said of deciding how to end the game. “They were leaving her open, and I thought that was the wrong thing to do.”
Robertson said he wanted to go for the last shot because he didn’t think they could get the ball back from Murray, who had controlled possession well all game.
“We had to work defensively that whole game,” he said. “They earned everything they got, and we earned what we got. It was a good victory for us.”
Lyon scored 12 points to lead Owensboro Catholic (15-6), who had to use a late push to knock off the Lady Tigers (18-3). The Lady Aces closed the final 3:18 of the game on a 9-3 run after their offense went several long stretches without scoring.
Sarah Beth Clemens was clutch down the stretch, scoring 9 of her 11 total points in the fourth quarter. Clemens also knocked down a 3-pointer that tied the game at 39-39 with 1:07 to play.
“The want to win got me going,” she said. “ I didn’t want to lose and I was just able to make my shots.”
Catholic started the game strong offensively, getting 5 points from Isabella Henning to take a 13-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. They weren’t able to pull away, though, as Murray used offensive rebounding to stay close.
After Henning hit a 3 with 2:30 left in the opening frame, the Lady Aces didn’t get another bucket until she scored again on a drive with 4:42 to play in the half. By then, Murray had taken a slim lead, and they outscored Catholic 10-4 in the second quarter to go into halftime up 22-17.
The Lady Aces surged back in the third, as Lyon converted her second and-1 of the game before Harvey and Hannah McKay capped a run to cut the Lady Tigers’ lead to 36-25 with 3:48 left in the third.
The offense again went cold, and Murray responded with a 7-0 run to take a 33-25 lead heading into the final frame.
A couple of scores from Clemens and a free throw by Lyon trimmed the Catholic deficit to 35-30 with 4:51 to play. After running some clock, Elizabeth Curtis hit a 3-pointer for the Lady Tigers for a 38-30 advantage with 3:18 to go.
Clemens answered with a jumper to start the final push that gave Catholic the win. Lyon said the team never stopped thinking they would walk away with a victory, allowing them to bounce back each time Murray threatened to pull away.
“We just kept pushing the ball and had confidence in ourselves,” she said. “We didn’t want them in our heads, so we just let them hit their shots and we went back and shot again.”
It marks the first signature win for Owensboro Catholic this year, though Robertson it’s only the start of what they want to achieve in the final weeks of the season. Still, he liked the fight the team showed.
“That’s what we wanted,” he said. “I was pretty tough on them, but they respect me I think, and they fought for me today. That was a great feeling. I believed in them the whole time.”
The Lady Aces have a quick turnaround, as they play Covington Holy Cross at 11 a.m. CST Saturday in the semifinal. The Indians (18-4) handily won their first two games of the tournament, beating Middlesboro 59-35 in the opener and Metcalfe County 70-47 in the quarterfinal.
The other semifinal will feature Walton-Verona (17-5) vs. West Carter (19-3) at following the Owensboro Catholic game. The championship game is Sunday at 11 a.m. CST., with all games at Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena.
Scoring
Catholic 13-4-8-17–42
Murray 12-10-11-8–41
Catholic: Madelyn Lyon 12, Sarah Beth Clemens 11, Hannah McKay 7, Isabella Henning 7, Spencer Harvey 5
Murray: Parker Greer 17, Calli Carver 9, Makenzie Turley 7, Elizabeth Curtis 6, Angela Gierhart 2
