Owensboro Catholic couldn’t muster up enough offense on Saturday, as they fell to the Lady Tigers 42-33 thanks to a second-half surge led by seniors Isabel Grimes and Sydney Tucker.
The Lady Aces got off to a red hot start, getting a pair of threes from senior Camille Conkright and a layup from junior Katie Riney to give them an 8-0 lead with six minutes left in the first. Breckinridge County wouldn’t crack the books until a free throw from senior Skylar Tucker with 4:30 left in the first.
From there forward, neither team was able to get much going offensively. Owensboro Catholic took a 10-6 lead into the second, trying to find a rhythm offensively once again.
With turnovers galore coming from both sides the Lady Aces got two baskets in the second, while the Lady Tigers got one. This helped Owensboro Catholic take a narrow 15-8 lead into halftime.
Despite having their offensive struggles carry over into the third, defensively the Lady Aces were able to hang onto the lead for much of the third quarter.
Sydney Tucker tied the game at 22 all at the charity stripe trying to help give Breckinridge County going into the fourth, but senior Kinsley Goetz nailed a left-hands post hook to make it 24-22 Owensboro Catholic at the end of the third.
The Lady Tigers were able to grab their first lead of the night shortly into the fourth thanks to a three from Sydney Tucker to make it 27-24. Junior Lexi Keeling responded with a three to knot it up at 27, but Breckinridge County would not be denied.
Grimes hit a three to make it 30-27, before Sydney Tucker struck again two possessions later to stay out in front 32-29 with about 3:30 left to play. Grimes sank a tough euro-step layup moments later to extend the Lady Tigers lead, but sophomore Hailee Johnson was fouled on the other end.
She sank both to make it 34-31 and a possession later junior Maddie Hayden cut it to 34-33 with two minutes to go with a layup. But Skylar Tucker responded with a bucket on the other end and a turnover by the Lady Aces on the following possession put Breckinridge County at the line up 36-33 with 1:48 to go.
The Lady Tigers went on to make their next six free throws, securing the 42-33 win over Owensboro Catholic and a spot in the 3rd Region Championship.
“At halftime I really didn’t know what to say to the girls,” said Breckinridge County Head Coach Chad Moorman. “Just make some shots, believe in yourselves, believe in each other and by golly we came out in the second half there [and battled]. We made a couple three’s there and after that seeing the ball go in the hole we felt pretty confident.”
Grimes and Sydney Tucker led all scorers on the night, as both tallied 13 points each. Only five Lady Tigers registered a bucket in the game.
Johnson was the only player to score more than six points for the Lady Aces, as she led the way with 10 points on the night.
“We were out of sync offensively,” Robertson said. “We just couldn’t get anything to go. I thought we kind of played a little passive. We would get the ball, we were breaking the press and then we weren’t attacking it. So, they weren’t losing anything by pressing us because we weren’t making them pay on the backside.”
Turnovers were the Achilles heel for Owensboro Catholic, as Robertson said that Breckinridge County did a good job of not letting them have space with the ball.
“They put good ball pressure on us,” Robertson said. “That’s a senior-led team and they were not going to be denied today. They played really well. They scrapped and they fought. I mean we held them to eight points in the first half and they only scored 42 for the game. We played good defense, we just didn’t play good offense.”
Seniors Conkright and Goetz both registered six points in their final game and Robertson was appreciative of all they have done for the Lady Aces following the loss.
“They’re going to be truly missed,” Robertson said. “They’ve given a lot to this program. Kinsley battled through adversity there at the end of the year with her shoulder and just fighting to get back. Hated it for her the way it ended. Then of course Camille Conkright. We had ups and downs, but she was always a fighter. She never gave up and she always kept on fighting, so I’m proud of both of them.”
Owensboro Catholic’s season ends in the 3rd Region Semifinal, as they close the year with an overall record of 26-10.
