Freshman Karmin Riley began to etch her name in the Lady Aces history books on Friday night, as Owensboro Catholic will leave the regular season undefeated in district play after a 59-41 home win against Owensboro.
An edge on the glass was key for Owensboro Catholic on both sides of the floor early on, as it helped them finish the first in double figures.
“We did well, limiting them to one shot,” Robertson said. “That’s what they thrive off of. They always thrive off of second chance opportunities. So if you can keep them from getting those then you have a good chance to win.”
With the Lady Devils struggling to connect and only scoring five points, the Lady Aces took a 12-5 lead into the second. Owensboro Catholic was without key sophomore guard Hailee Johnson for much of the first half thanks to two quick fouls in the first quarter, but it’s offense didn’t falter.
The Lady Aces were lighting it up from beyond the arc, hitting four threes to take a 27-19 halftime lead. They also saw standout guard Riley eclipse a new milestone, as a floater to close out the first half marked 1,000 points for her career.
“She’s a special player,” Robertson said. “She’s got a knack for scoring. So, we’ll just keep working. We’ve got a few of those on the team and the thing is, she’s very unselfish. It’s not necessarily about her. It’s an award for her, but she’s just as proud to get the win as the 1,000 points.”
The second half got off to a rough start for the Lady Devils, as Owensboro Catholic came out of the locker room picking up right where they left off. Owensboro was without eighth grader Unique Carter-Swanagan as well for most of the third after a shoulder injury, as they went into the third quarter trailing 44-26.
The Lady Aces closed out the night with another barrage of threes, connecting four times from deep in the fourth as they wrapped up a 59-41 win over the Lady Devils.
Riley finished with 12 points on the night for Owensboro Catholic, while junior Lexie Keelin led all scorers with 15 points off of the bench.
“She was one of the sparks off of the bench,” Roberson said. “She hit a couple of threes and got some offensive rebounds running the court. She did a lot of the little things for us.”
Owensboro didn’t have any players finish in double figures with sophomore Lizzy Phillips and Carter-Swanagan leading the way with eight points each, while sophomore A’Lyrica Hughes was limited to five points.
The win moves the Lady Aces to 22-7 overall, as they finish the regular season 6-0 in district play. Owensboro Catholic will see the Lady Devils once again in the first round of the 9th District Tournament, as Robertson said they will have to be focused on both ends of the floor once again.
“There’s a little bit more pressure when it comes to the district tournament,” Robertson said “We just gotta relax and have fun. [We have to] make sure we know where A’Lyrica is. Carter-Swanagan had a good game for them [too] until she was knocked out… We’ve gotta come ready to play again.”
The Lady Aces have a quick turnaround, as they will look to extend its winning streak to five games against Bardstown at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
On the other hand, the loss has Owensboro sitting at 13-13 overall and 1-5 in district play. The Lady Devils will look to bounce back on Saturday, as they are set to host Hopkinsville at 2 p.m..
