Kentucky Challenge
Lexington
Catholic High School, Lexington, Kentucky
February 9, 2002
Copyright © 2002 Ron Harrison
Lexington Catholic coach Greg Todd has put together an excellent field for this premier one day event. There will be eight games with eight Kentucky teams scheduled to compete against teams from Ohio, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Teams appearing today will be Somerset, Hughes (OH), East Carter, Mt. Notre Dame (OH), Highlands, Sycamore (OH), Hart County, Wyoming (OH), Clinton County, Huntington (WV), Sacred Heart Academy, Cookeville (TN), Muhlenberg North, Upperman (TN), Lexington Catholic, and Mt. Juliet (TN). Dave Cantrall’s state rankings appeared in the February 4th edition of the Lexington Herald-Leader and #1 Sacred Heart, #3 Lexington Catholic, #5 Muhlenberg North, #7 Clinton County, and #14 Hart County all appear on today’s slate of games.
There are many individual stars scheduled to perform today. There are many outstanding out-of-state
stars plus several girls mentioned in the Lexington Herald-Leader’s
Pre-Season Preview of top 25 players.
These include Laura Shelton (Hart County), Jade Perry
(Muhlenberg North), Chelsea Chowning (Lexington Catholic), Tara
Boothe (Highlands), Crystal Kelly (Sacred Heart), Holly Mills (Muhlenberg
North), Kasi Mullins (East Carter), and Angela Brown (Clinton
County)
Game No. 1 Hughes (OH) (15-4) vs. Somerset (8-13)
Hughes coach Anita Burke started the following lineup: 5-8 Jr. Farsha Johnson, 5-8 So. Whitney Davis, 6-0 Jr. Sidney Johnson, 5-5 Jr. Brandie Everson, and 5-8 Sr. Pam Watts. Somerset coach Judy Mason countered with 5-9 Sr. Nicole Denney, 5-9 Jr. Whitney Alderdice, 6-0 So. Meg Stevenson, 5-4 Jr. Amy Honeycutt, and 5-6 Sr. LaShanda Upchurch.
Hughes led 39-37 at the end of three quarters, but Somerset rallied in the final quarter behind 14 fourth quarter points by Amy Honeycutt to win by a score of 63-53. This was a game of surges as Somerset led by a score of 29-13 during the first half before Hughes mounted a comeback. Somerset was 20 of 23 from the free throw line for an 87% rate. The victors were led by Amy Honeycutt with 19 points, including 11 of 12 from the free throw line. 5-8 Fr. Madison Flowers, came off the bench to add 10 points. Meg Stevenson pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Hughes was led today by Brandie Everson with 14 points and seven rebounds. 5-8 So. Veronica Palmer added nine points.
|
Hughes |
6 |
16 |
17 |
14 |
- |
53 |
|
Somerset |
16 |
16 |
5 |
26 |
- |
63 |
|
Hughes |
(53) - |
F. Johnson 2, Davis 5, S. Johnson 6, Everson 14, Watts 6, Moore 5, Richardson 5, Lester 1, Palmer 9. |
|
Somerset |
(63) - |
Denney 7, Alderdice 8, Stevenson 4, Honeycutt 19, Upchurch 9, Cowan 1, Irvine 5, Flowers 10. |
Game No. 2 Mt. Notre Dame (OH) (11-8) vs. East Carter (19-5)
Mt. Notre Dame coach Dr. Scott Rogers started the following lineup: 5-8 So. Ali Rohlfs, 5-5 Jr. Kristin McAlarney, 6-0 Fr. Michelle Jones, 5-7 So. Mel Thomas, and 5-6 Fr. Melissa Bobinski. East Carter coach Hager Easterling countered with 5-11 Jr. Mikki Womack, 5-11 So. Kim Stapleton, 5-8 Fr. Kasi Mullins, 5-6 8th grader Ashely Baldwin, and 5-5 So. Molly Jackson.
Ashely Baldwin hit a free throw with 1.3 seconds remaining on the clock to give East Carter a 59-58 victory over Mt. Notre Dame. East Carter was on target today as they shot 50% from the field and 80% from the free throw line. East Carter was led by Kasi Mullins with 30 points including 12 of 18 from the field with four of five from the three point line. Mullins recorded two milestones in her career as she became East Carter’s all time leading scorer and surpassed the 2,000 point mark in her career. Kim Stapleton added 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Mt. Notre Dame was led by Mel Thomas with 33 points including five three pointers.
|
Mt. Notre Dame |
18 |
15 |
12 |
13 |
- |
58 |
|
East Carter |
20 |
13 |
11 |
15 |
- |
59 |
|
Mt. Notre Dame |
(58) - |
Rohlfs 8, McAlarney 6, Jones 4, Thomas 33, Bobinski 2, Osborn 5. |
|
East Carter |
(59) - |
Womack 0, Stapleton 23, , Mullins 30, Baldwin 3, Jackson 0, Prichard 3. |
Game No. 3 Sycamore (OH) (14-5) vs. Highlands (10-7)
Sycamore coach Paula Hayden started the following lineup: 6-2 Sr. Mandy Ebel, 5-10 So. Jenny Fitzwilson, 6-2 Jr. Stephanie Everett, 5-6 Sr. Jessica Fitzwilson, and 5-5 Fr. Laura Steiner. Highlands coach Luci Cecil countered with 5-11 So. Angela Healey, 5-10 Sr. Emily Hamel, 6-1 Sr. Tara Boothe, 5-6 So. Abi Gibson, and 5-8 So. Maggie Brown.
Sycamore utilized 57.8% shooting from the field, a 38-23 rebounding margin, and a 20-0 second quarter to defeat Highlands by a score of 65-41. Mandy Ebel led a balanced Sycamore attack with 15 points. Jenny Fitzwilson and 5-6 So. Lindsay Crum added 11 and 10 points respectively. Stephanie Everett added 10 points was and pulled down 11 rebounds. Highlands was led Tara Boothe with 29 points and 11 rebounds.
|
Sycamore |
19 |
20 |
18 |
8 |
- |
65 |
|
Highlands |
11 |
0 |
18 |
12 |
- |
41 |
|
Sycamore |
(65) - |
Ebel 15, Jenny Fitzwilson 11, Everett 10, Jessica Fitzwilson 7, Steiner 6, Crum 10, Shuller 6. |
|
Highlands |
(41) - |
Healey 2, Hamel 5, Boothe 29, Gibson 0, Brown 0, Gearding 5. |
Game No. 4 Wyoming (OH) (11-8) vs. Hart County (18-3)
Wyoming coach Ted Dixon, subbing for Deb Gentile, started the following lineup: 5-10 Jr. Veronica Vance, 5-8 Jr. Courtney Loper, 5-9 Sr. Laura Verhaeghe, 5-10 Sr. Mary Bell, and 5-8 Fr. Tess Loper. Hart County coach Tommy Adams countered with 5-10 Jr. Christina Priddy, 5-8 So. Kellie Childress, 6-2 Sr. Krystal Gardner, 5-8 Fr. LaShonda Haskins, and 5-4 Sr. Laura Shelton.
Hart County jumped out to an 11-0 lead and defeated Wyoming by a score of 59-44. Hart County was led by Laura Shelton with 22 points and eight assists. Kellie Childress added 11 points and Krystal Gardner chipped in with nine points and 11 rebounds. Wyoming was led by 5-7 Sr. Marla Anderson with 17 points.
|
Wyoming |
11 |
9 |
14 |
10 |
- |
44 |
|
Hart County |
21 |
14 |
14 |
10 |
- |
59 |
|
Wyoming |
(44) - |
Anderson 17, Vance 3, C. Loper 6, Verhaeghe 8, Bell 4, T. Loper 4, Harris 2. |
|
Hart County |
(59) - |
Priddy 7, Childress 11, Gardner 9, Haskins 7, Shelton 22, Smith 3. |
Game No. 5 Huntington (WV) (16-3) vs. Clinton County (20-4)
Huntington coach Lonnie Lucas started the following lineup: 6-1 Sr. Molly Sergent, 6-0 Jr. Kashawna Curry, 6-2 Sr. Samantha McComas, 5-6 Jr. Cheredon Felder, and 5-6 So. Danya Hammond. Clinton County coach Gary Abbott countered with 5-9 Sr. Courtney Ballinger, 5-7 Sr. Rachel Matthews, 6-5 Jr. Angela Brown, 5-6 Fr. Amber Guffey, and 5-7 Fr. Paige Guffey .
Clinton County took a 23-10 first quarter lead and maintained their margin throughout the game to gain a 65-51 decision over Huntington. Clinton County was led by Paige and Amber Guffey with 19 and 15 points respectively. Angela Brown added 12 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Huntington was led by Danya Hammond with 17 points. Samantha McComas added 13 points and 11 rebounds. Molly Sergent chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
|
Huntington |
10 |
15 |
13 |
13 |
- |
51 |
|
Clinton County |
23 |
14 |
13 |
15 |
- |
65 |
|
Huntington |
(51) - |
Sergent 12, Curry 5, McComas 13, Felder 1, Hammond 17, Black 3. |
|
Clinton County |
(65) - |
Ballinger 0, Matthews 11, Brown 12, A. Guffey 19, P. Guffey 15, Curry 2, Abbott 6. |
Game No. 6 Cookeville (TN) (15-10) vs. Sacred Heart (23-1)
Cookeville coach Mindy Odom started the following lineup: 5-10 Jr. Ashley Taylor, 5-10 Jr. Amy Phillips, 6-2 Sr. Abby Colgazier, 5-6 Sr. Lindsey Wolf, and 5-7 Sr. Stacey Moss. Sacred Heart coach Donna Moir countered with 5-10 Jr. Becca Kopple, 5-6 Jr. Krisha Byron, 6-2 So. Crystal Kelly, 5-6 So. Connie Ferch, and 5-4 Fr. Carly Ormerod .
Sacred Heart shot 53.3% from the field and finally subdued a scrappy Cookeville squad by a score of 62-51. Sacred Heart was led by Krisha Byron with 16 points and eight assists. Crystal Kelly added 15 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Carly Ormerod added 13 points and recorded six steals. Cookeville was led by Ashley Taylor with 21 points and seven rebounds. Taylor was 14 of 16 from the free throw stripe. Stacey Moss added 17 points.
|
Cookeville |
12 |
14 |
6 |
19 |
- |
51 |
|
Sacred Heart |
13 |
17 |
10 |
22 |
- |
62 |
|
Cookeville |
(51) - |
Taylor 21, Phillips 2, Colgazier 4, Wolf 1, Moss 17, McDonald 4, Redus 2. |
|
Sacred Heart |
(62) - |
B. Kopple 8, Byron 16, Kelly 15, Ferch 2, Ormerod 13, Speer 4, T. Kopple 2, Windchy 2. |
Game No. 7 Upperman (TN) (25-3) vs. Muhlenberg North (18-5)
Upperman coach Dana McWilliams started the following lineup: 5-7 Sr. Amanda Austin, 5-5 So. Cynthia Medley, 6-2 Sr. Emily Christian, 5-3 Jr. Desiree Burden, and 5-5 Jr. Kim Blankenship. Muhlenberg North coach Mike Harper countered with 5-10 Sr. Jasmine Perry, 5-10 Sr. Lindsey Sparks, 6-2 So. Jade Perry, 5-5 Sr. Amanda Burden, and 5-8 Sr. Holly Mills.
Upperman led 28-23 at halftime but outscored Muhlenberg North 12-2 in the third period on their way to a 57-43 victory. They were led by Kim Blankenship with 22 points. Emily Christian added 19 points and eight rebounds. Muhlenberg North was led today by Jade Perry with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Upperman was 20 of 24 from the free throw line while Muhlenberg North was only one of three from the charity stripe.
|
Upperman |
16 |
12 |
12 |
17 |
- |
57 |
|
Muhlenberg North |
10 |
13 |
2 |
18 |
- |
43 |
|
Upperman |
(57) - |
Austin 12, Medley 0, Christian 19, Burden 2, Blankenship 22, Frizzel 2. |
|
Muhlenberg North |
(43) - |
Jas. Perry 6, Sparks 4, Jade Perry 15, Burden 5, Mills 7, Phelps 3, Wilcox 3. |
Game No. 8 Mt. Juliet (TN) (16-7) vs. Lexington Catholic (21-2)
Mt. Juliet coach Chris Fryer started the following lineup: 5-10 So. Christy Welch, 5-8 Sr. Rebecca Vantrease, 6-0 Sr. Courtney McFarlin, 5-5 Sr. Keisha Tunstill, and 5-5 Jr. Lauren Hudson. Lexington Catholic coach Greg Todd countered with 6-0 Jr. Chelsea Chowning, 5-10 Jr. Sarah Schell, 6-0 Fr. Shannon Novosel, 5-11 Sr. Lindsay Devers, and 5-6 So. Megan Mendenhall.
Lexington Catholic won this battle by a score of 50-43. Both teams shot well from the field as Mt. Juliet was 53.3% while Lexington Catholic was on target for 52.6% of their shots. Catholic scored 20 points off 16 Mt. Juliet turnovers. Lexington Catholic was led tonight by Chelsea Chowning with 26 points. Chowning was on target the entire game as she was 10 of 14 from the floor. Sarah Schell tallied only five points, but she recorded four rebounds, 11 assists, and four steals. Shannon Novosel added 10 points. Mt. Juliet was led by Courtney McFarlin with 28 points and eight rebounds. McFarlin was 11 of 15 from the floor.
|
Mt. Juliet |
8 |
11 |
9 |
15 |
- |
43 |
|
Lexington Catholic |
20 |
12 |
7 |
11 |
- |
50 |
|
Mt. Juliet |
(43) - |
Welch 9, Vantrease 0, McFarlin 28, Tunstill 0, L. Hudson 0, H. Hudson 6. |
|
Lexington Catholic |
(50) - |
Chowning 26, Schell 5, Novosel 10, Devers 0, Mendenhall 3, Server 6. |
Conclusion
Congratulations to Lexington Catholic coach Greg Todd for putting together an excellent day of basketball. Coach Judy Mason does an excellent job at Somerset and has a nice blend of upperclassmen and young players that could gel by tourney time. 5-8 Fr. Madison Flowers could be a good one. 5-7 So. Mel Thomas of Mt. Notre Dame (OH) is an excellent scorer with good range. East Carter’s 5-8 Fr. Kasi Mullins is as good as her sizeable rep and teammate 5-11 So. Kim Stapleton had a great game today. Sycamore (OH)’s 6-2 Sr. Mandy Ebel and 6-2 Jr. Stephanie Everett were very impressive. Highlands’ 6-1 Sr. Tara Boothe was 13 of 27 from the field but tallied 29 points, 11 rebounds, and recorded four steals. Hart County’s 5-4 Sr. Laura Shelton hustles from bell to bell and recorded 22 points and eight assists. Clinton County has a solid inside player in 6-5 Jr. Angela Brown and a lot of excitement and outside shooting with the Guffey twins.
Sacred Heart had a tough overtime win over Male last night and when you’re number one there is a huge target on your back. Coach Donna Moir’s talented squad appears to be up to the challenge. 6-2 So. Crystal Kelly can dominate inside and 5-4 Fr. Carly Ormerod will be special. This team has loads of talent but are in a very tough region. Upperman has a very good team and 5-5 Jr. Kim Blankenship and 6-2 Sr. Emily Christian had excellent games. Coach Dana McWilliams does an excellent job with this team and if they get a late lead the game is over. They handle the ball well and 6-2 Sr. Emily Christian can go out on the floor and is a nice ball handler. Muhlenberg North did not shoot well today but when Amanda Burden, Holly Mills, and Lindsey Sparks are connecting, and the Perrys (Jasmine and Jade) are patrolling the baseline, they are very good. 6-0 Sr. Courtney McFarlin had an excellent game for Mt. Juliet. Chelsea Chowning, a silky smooth 6-0 Jr., was on for Catholic today. When the shots are not falling for Catholic’s Sarah Schell, she will beat you in so many other ways. 6-0 Fr. Shannon Novosel should have a bright future for Catholic. They will miss 5-6 Jr. Regina Carney who is out with an injury, but she should return for a strong senior campaign.
Girls’ basketball appears to be in good hands and has a bright future. While some of the senior stars will be missed next year, there are many underclassmen out there that are not only contributing but starring for their respective teams.
A special thanks to coach Greg Todd for the hospitality extended me during this event. Also a big note of appreciation to Gary and Glen for providing the computer stats for the games. It was great to see super fan Louis Meadows in attendance. You know you’ve chosen the right event to attend when Mr. Meadows is in the house.
Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the tournament, teams, or players to me at prephoops@yahoo.com .