Shortly into the second half an official issued E-gals Head Coach Natalie Payne a technical foul for leaving the coaches box. This led to a string of events that had Payne issued another technical less than a minute later and helped Meade County go on a 7-0 run that changed the course of a heated 3rd Region Semifinal battle in which Apollo ultimately fell 49-37.
Going into halftime, the Lady Waves had gone on a 9-2 run to take a 22-20 lead. The E-gals had held standout freshman Peyton Bradley scoreless and were going toe-to-toe with the No. 10 ranked team in the Commonwealth.
“The kids really really bought into the defense,” Payne said. “They were in their help position, they were sticking with Bradley. Jenna was a force inside defensively and kept herself in the game with not getting silly fouls. They did everything I asked them to do. They got back in transition. So I was really really pleased.”
And while Apollo was struggling to take care of the basketball offensively, Payne still felt pretty confident about her team’s chances coming out of the locker room.
“As long as we were getting stops, I told them at halftime ‘it’s ok,’’ Payne said. “We’ll fight through that stuff and we’ll get through it. Shelbie and Amaya had a lot of pressure on them up top, but they did the best they could do to find the gaps, attack the gaps, find Jenna [and] find the open looks.”
However, a minute or so into the third quarter, Payne was issued a technical for being outside of the coaches box. She was attempting to talk to her players who were on the other end of the floor and then turned around to talk to her bench.
“At the beginning of the game they told me to move my stool over past that line,” Payne said. “It was the same referee each time. Then one time down the floor, he said ‘just make sure you’re in the box.’ I said ok. So my kids are way down there (on the other end of the floor) and he comes from as far away out of my vision as he could be to light me up.”
With her back turned she had no idea that the official on the other end of the floor had given her a technical and thought it was initially on the bench. Meade County proceeded to make one of the two free throws and went up 23-20 with 5:35 left in the third.
A few possessions later senior guard Amaya Curry was met by a harsh double team from the Lady Waves at halfcourt. She fell after taking some contact, but was called for a travel.
Sitting on the bench after receiving the technical, Payne threw a marker down out of frustration. When she threw the marker, the cap busted and a part of it was on the opposite end of the floor during the dead ball. Because of it, the same official that had issued the first one T’d Payne up again and she was ejected from the game.
“They just said from then on I had to sit because I was out of the box,” Payne said. “Then of course Amaya got annihilated there on the sideline and things were getting emotional and I took my marker and I did throw it down. Again, the one referee just chose to focus in on me the entire game… It’s not fair to the kids.”
Following Payne’s ejection the Lady Waves sank both free throws and sank two more on the ensuing possession after a foul on the E-gals. This gave Meade County a 7-0 run to start the second half, putting them up 29-20 with 4:42 left in the third.
This would be the proverbial dagger in the game, as Apollo’s was stunned by the run and ultimately had its season come to an end in the 3rd Region Semifinals with a 49-37 loss to the Lady Waves.
Following the game Payne made it known that Meade has been the favorite in the tournament, that she respects opposing Head Coach Dina Hackert and the Lady Waves players, but that the seven-point swing that was a result of the two technicals took away any momentum that Apollo had.
“I’m kind of at a loss, because I never like to make excuses,” Payne said. “I tell our kids not to make excuses. You fight through. But that official took the game away from these kids. Meade County is a good team. They play hard and they’ve got some weapons, but we were neck and neck. We were doing our thing and we were sticking to the gameplan and that man decided to take control of the flow of the game and it’s really disheartening that that would happen to teenagers.”
Payne said that it is one thing for it to happen to her and that it was completely fine if that was the case. However, she doesn’t understand how an official could do that to kids and stated that it is something she will never get over.
“To me, you’re looking for some type of air that has nothing to do with the kids that are out there battling it out,” Payne said. “You should be looking for hand-checks, you should be looking for moving screens, things that are out there going on live. Why the focus was on me, I guess he just wanted to be in control. Some people like control, that’s all I know to say.”
Sophomore Jenna Dant led all scorers with 16 points on the night, while Curry followed closely behind with 12. The loss not only meant the end to the E-gals season with a 15-17 overall record, but also an end to the illustrious careers of Curry and fellow senior guard Shelbie Beatty.
“They’re just special players that you only get every once in awhile in your coaching career,” Payne said. “From what they give just as people, as human beings. They want to please. They’re coach pleasers. They’re going to lay it on the line every night.”
Payne was proud of her senior guard duo’s play in their final game, saying she considers them like family and that she will miss them and everything they’ve given to the program over the past four years.
“We have conversations on the phone through text all the time,” Payne said. “I mean we’re constantly talking about basketball and life. Not just basketball. Like I said, I consider them like my daughters. The blood, sweat and tears that they’ve poured into this program will never be forgotten. They got us back on top last year after 24 years of not going to the state tournament and it’s a big big credit to those two kids. So they’ve left a legacy for sure.”
