Bryan Station High
School,
Lexington,
Kentucky
December 14, 2002
© 2002 Ron Harrison
The Lady Defender Classic has a rich history of tradition and excellent play over the past 19 years. The Classic is proud to have had eight Miss Basketballs, 11 State Tournament MVPs, two Parade All-Americans, and 11 State Champions participate in our one-day showcase of Kentucky’s finest teams and players in girls basketball. You will be in for a treat as more girls basketball history will be made today.
|
Lisa Harrison |
- |
Louisville Southern |
- |
WNBA |
|
Ukari Figgs |
- |
Scott County |
- |
WNBA |
|
Camille Cooper |
- |
Scott County |
- |
WNBA |
|
Jamie Walz |
- |
Highlands |
- |
Miss Basketball |
|
Kandi Brown |
- |
West Carter |
- |
All-State |
|
Carolyn Alexander |
- |
Hazard |
- |
All-State |
|
Beth Vice |
- |
Montgomery County |
- |
Miss Basketball |
|
Bebe Croley |
- |
Henry Clay |
- |
Parade All-American |
|
Marcia Webb |
- |
Bryan Station |
- |
All-State |
|
Leslie Logsdon |
- |
Hart County |
- |
All-State |
This is the 20th year for the Lady Defender Classic which makes it the oldest one day girls basketball event in the state. There are six games on the slate today. Six of the top 25 teams in the Lexington Herald-Leader Pre-Season Preview are entered in this event, including #4 Clinton County, #6 West Carter, #7 Harrison County, #11 Manual, #20 Henry Clay, and #25 Bryan Station. There are also five of the top 20 players in the Lexington Herald-Leader Pre-Season Preview scheduled to participate today including #2 Megen Gearhart (West Carter), #6 Angela Brown (Clinton County), #8 Megan Gray (Harrison County), #11 Tracy Harbut (Bryan Station), and #18 Sarah McKemie (Manual).
Game
No. 1 Manual (3-0) vs.
Scott County (4-0)
Manual coach Mina Todd started the following lineup: 6-0 Sr. Ellen Doolittle, 6-1 Jr. Candyce Bingham, 6-2 Jr. Sarah McKemie, 5-6 Sr. Dedra McMillion, and 6-0 So. Maggie McKemie. Scott County coach Steve Helton countered with 5-9 Sr. Rachel Reliford, 6-0 Sr. Sarah Norman, 5-9 Sr. Lauren Farmer, 5-10 Sr. Anna Fraley, and 5-5 Fr. Chelsia Lymon.
Ellen Doolittle hit a putback shot at the buzzer to give Manual a 72-70 victory over Scott County. Manual was guilty of 29 turnovers but held a 54-25 rebounding margin. Manual also held a 49.1%-40% field goal advantage over Scott County. Manual was led today by Ellen Doolittle with 27 points and 19 rebounds. Candyce Bingham added 19 points while Sarah McKemie chipped in with 10 points and 17 rebounds. Scott County was led by Chelsia Lymon with 17 points. Lauren Farmer and Anna Fraley added 14 and 12 points respectively.
|
Manual |
26 |
10 |
12 |
24 |
- |
72 |
|
Scott County |
17 |
19 |
17 |
17 |
- |
70 |
|
Manual |
(72) |
- |
Doolittle 27, Bingham 19, S. McKemie 10, McMillion 3, M. McKemie 7, Schutte 3, Blakemore 3. |
|
Scott County |
(70) |
- |
Reliford 3, Sarah Norman 7, Farmer 14, Fraley 12, Lymon 17, Gray 6, Moses 10, Weathers 1. |
Game
No. 2 Clinton County (4-0) vs.
Harrison County (3-0)
Clinton County coach Gary Abbott started the following lineup: 5-10 Sr. Staci Ross, 5-8 So. Brittany Abbott, 6-5 Sr. Angela Brown, 5-6 So. Amber Guffey, and 5-7 So. Paige Guffey. Harrison County coach Mac Whitaker countered with 6-3 Sr. Lindsey Dickson, 5-9 Fr. Brooke Faulkner, 6-0 Jr. Megan Gray, 6th grader Nicole Moore, and 5-6 Sr. Allison Snedeker.
Clinton County utilized a 16 point, 12 rebound second half performance by Angela Brown to claim a 51-44 victory over Harrison County. Neither team shot well from the floor, with Clinton County connecting on 38.8% of their shots while Harrison County was on target only 29.5% of the time. Clinton County was led today by Angela Brown with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocked shots. Amber Guffey, Brittany Abbott, and Paige Guffey added 11, 10, and nine points respectively. Harrison County was led by Megan Gray with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brooke Faulkner added 11 points.
|
Clinton County |
15 |
11 |
13 |
12 |
- |
51 |
|
Harrison County |
11 |
9 |
10 |
14 |
- |
44 |
|
Clinton County |
(51) |
- |
Ross 2, Abbott 10, A. Brown 18, A. Guffey 11, P. Guffey 9, Papineau 1. |
|
Harrison County |
(44) |
- |
Dickson 2, Faulkner 11, Gray 15, Moore 7, Snedeker 7, Owsley 2. |
Game
No. 3 East Carter (4-1) vs.
Henry Clay (2-1)
East Carter coach Hager Easterling started the following lineup: 5-11 Sr. Mikki Womack, 5-10 Jr. Amanda Prichard, 6-0 Jr. Kim Stapleton, 5-6 Fr. Ashley Baldwin, and 5-5 Jr. Molly Jackson. Henry Clay coach Scott Cromwell countered with 6-2 Jr. Abby Currens, 6-1 Sr. Leah Hill, 6-0 Jr. Mary Tobin, 5-6 Jr. Johnna Lewis-Carlisle, and 5-7 Jr. Jessie Birdwhistell.
Henry Clay outshot East Carter from the field 52.6%-46.7% and shot 84% (21 of 25) from the free throw line on their way to a 62-57 victory. Henry Clay was led by Mary Tobin with 19 points. Leah Hill and Abby Currens added 12 and 10 points respectively. East Carter was led by Kim Stapleton with 24 points. Ashley Baldwin added 13 points including three three pointers. Molly Jackson chipped in with 11 points.
|
East Carter |
20 |
13 |
12 |
12 |
- |
57 |
|
Henry Clay |
15 |
16 |
16 |
15 |
- |
62 |
|
East Carter |
(57) |
- |
Womack 0, Prichard 7, Stapleton 24, Baldwin 13, Jackson 11, Kouns 2. |
|
Henry Clay |
(62) |
- |
Currens 10, Hill 12, Tobin 19, Lewis-Carlisle 8, Birdwhistell 3, Sullivan 2, Wilson 8. |
Game
No. 4 West Carter (3-0) vs.
Bryan Station (2-1)
West Carter coach John “Hop” Brown started the following lineup: 5-11 Sr. Jenise James, 5-11 Fr. Brandi Rayburn, 5-9 Sr. Brooke Mullis, 5-6 Jr. Stephanie Hall, and 5-6 Sr. Megen Gearhart. Bryan Station coach Jackie Williams countered with 6-0 Sr. Tracy Harbut, 5-10 So. Brittney Clark, 6-1 Fr. Crystal Leach, 5-6 Fr. Carley Blankenship, and 5-7 Fr. Bradli Stinson. .
West Carter’s Megen Gearhart nailed a three-pointer with seconds remaining to knot the score at 61-61 but Tracy Harbut drove the length of the floor to hit a layup with less than a second remaining to give Bryan Station a 63-61 victory. Bryan Station held a 48%-37% field goal shooting margin. Neither team could connect from the free throw line as West Carter shot 50% (10 of 20) and Bryan Station could manage only 55.6% (10 of 18) from the charity stripe. Bryan Station was led by Tracy Harbut with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven steals. Brittney Clark added 12 points and six rebounds. West Carter was led by Megen Gearhart with 26 points including five three pointers. Gearhart also dished out six assists. Brooke Mullis added 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds.
|
West Carter |
13 |
12 |
21 |
15 |
- |
61 |
|
Bryan Station |
19 |
15 |
10 |
19 |
- |
63 |
|
West Carter |
(61) |
- |
James 4, Rayburn 0, Mullis 19, Hall 12, Gearhart 26. |
|
Bryan Station |
(63) |
- |
Harbut 21, Clark 12, Leach 2, Blankenship 11, Stinson 7, Demetria Nichols 4, Smith 4, Denetria Nichols 2. |
Game
No. 5 Pendleton County (4-0) vs.
Tates Creek (3-0)
Pendleton County coach Keith Smith started the following lineup: 5-9 Sr. Megan Wood, 6-2 Sr. Megan Powell, 5-7 Jr. Jenna Kelsch, 5-8 Sr. Ginger Courtney, and 5-6 Jr. Samantha Godman. Tates Creek coach Jim Masters countered with 6-0 So. Kristin Pendleton, 5-8 So. Derrica Morton, 6-2 So. Brittany Pittman, 5-1 Sr. Nicole Figueroa, and 5-7 So. Philnisha Lindsey.
The score was tied at 34-34 at the end of three quarters but Tates Creek outscored Pendleton County 12-3 in the final period to take a 46-37 decision. Tates Creek held a 47-29 rebounding margin over Pendleton County. Pendleton County actually had more three-pointers (six) for the game than two point baskets (five). Tates Creek was led by Brittany Pittman with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocked shots. 5-10 Fr. Sibbie Marsh and Philnisha Lindsey added nine and eight points respectively. Derrica Morton added four points and 10 rebounds. Pendleton County was led by Ginger Courtney with 15 points including four of six three point shots. Megan Wood added 12 points and six rebounds.
|
Pendleton County |
12 |
15 |
7 |
3 |
- |
37 |
|
Tates Creek |
12 |
14 |
8 |
12 |
- |
46 |
|
Pendleton County |
(37) |
- |
Wood 12, Powell 4, Kelsch 0, Courtney 15 Godman 6. |
|
Tates Creek |
(46) |
- |
Pendleton 6, Morton 4, Pittman 12, Figueroa 0, Lindsey 8, Dowlen 5, Marsh 9, Hayse 2. |
Game
No. 6 Eastern (0-2) vs.
Paul L. Dunbar (0-2)
Eastern coach Steve Ward started the following lineup: 5-10 Sr. Melinda Varner, 5-9 Sr. Andrea Behling, 5-8 Fr. Dymon Rondo, So. Tierra Payne, and So. Tiffani Slaughter. Dunbar coach Rick Griffith countered with 5-10 Jr. Dominique Rowe, 5-10 Sr. Jessica Hanson, 5-8 Sr. Becky Napier, 5-9 So. Adaeze Azubuike, and 5-7 Sr. Allison Tamaji.
Dunbar led 30-21 at halftime and pulled away in the second half to defeat Eastern by a score of 70-46. Dunbar held a 46.3%-36.6% in field goal shooting and held a 39-30 advantage on the boards. Dunbar was led tonight by Adaeze Azubuike with 18 points. Jessica Hanson added 12 points and Becky Napier chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds. Eastern was led by Andrea Behling with 19 points. Melinda Varner added 13 points and seven rebounds.
|
Eastern |
11 |
10 |
12 |
13 |
- |
46 |
|
Paul L. Dunbar |
13 |
17 |
16 |
24 |
- |
70 |
|
Eastern |
(46) |
- |
Varner 13, Behling 19, Rondo 3, Payne 2, Slaughter 6, Prince 2, McCarty 1. |
|
Paul L. Dunbar |
(70) |
- |
Rowe 2, Hanson 12, Napier 12, Azubuike 18, Tamaji 3, Greene 2, Clark 4, Marnitz 2, Creech 5, Wiant 3, Hicks 2, Schaffer 5. |
This was an excellent day of basketball which was a perfect way to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of this premier event. The first game featured two teams (Manual and Scott County) that are good now but will only get better throughout the year. The second game was a rematch of the state tournament meeting last year between Harrison County and Clinton County. Clinton County came out on top this time as 6-5 Sr. Angela Brown had an excellent second half. The third game was a real battle between East Carter and Henry Clay. Their two junior stars Kim Stapleton (East Carter) and Mary Tobin (Henry Clay) came to play and were very impressive. The fourth game was probably the showcase today, especially with the wild finish. Megen Gearhart is, well, Megen Gearhart and all the acclaim heaped upon her is well deserved. Bryan Station’s Tracy Harbut is a very smooth operator and if anyone doubted her intensity they should have witnessed her mad dash to the basket for the winning points. Tates Creek remained undefeated and 6-2 So. Brittany Pittman is a player to watch. They young Tates Creek squad showed a lot of poise defeating a good Pendleton County squad. Dunbar won their first game of the season defeating Eastern today. Eastern has not cracked the win column in this young season but it was great to have Coach Steve Ward here today as he got this Classic started 20 years ago.
This was a well-attended event and the quality of the games brought a smile to Bryan Station A.D. Susan Montgomery. Ms. Montgomery truly loves the ladies game and this event was very special. Everyone is aware of West Carter Coach John “Hop” Brown’s health problems earlier this year and it was great seeing “Hop” roaming the sidelines coaching his beloved Lady Comets. This was an early Christmas present for all hoops fans.