Martin Luther King, Jr. Classic

Lafayette High School, Lexington, Kentucky
January 16, 2005

Copyright © 2005 Ron Harrison

This event will showcase the 43rd District teams (Paul Dunbar, Lafayette, Bryan Station, Henry Clay, and Tates Creek) against invited teams from across the state.

Today's Schedule of Games

1:00 PM -

Clay County

vs.

Henry Clay

2:30 PM -

*Lexington Christian

vs.

Bryan Station

4:00 PM -

Mercy Academy

vs.

Tates Creek

5:30 PM -

Knott County Central

vs.

Paul Dunbar

7:00 PM -

Trigg County

vs.

Lafayette

*Originally scheduled as Jackson County vs. Bryan Station

Game 1  Clay County (12-3) vs. Henry Clay (9-6)

Clay County coach Donnie Gray started the following lineup:  5-8 Jr. Mariah Aubrey, 5-7 Fr. Gemma Gray, 5-9 So. Maleah Roberts, 5-7 So. Paige Jackson, and 5-7 Jr. Jayme Gilbert.  Henry Clay coach Scott Cromwell countered with 5-9 Jr. Erica Coleman, 5-7 So. Brittany Bibbs, 6-0 Fr. Gwen Rucker, 5-5 Fr. Raven Price, and 5-5 Fr. Demetria Nichols.

Clay County took advantage of Henry Clay's poor shooting from the field (14 of 51 for 27.5%) to take a 62-46 victory.  Clay County shot 48.1% from the field, connected on 11 of 16 free throws, and pulled down 35 rebounds.  Henry Clay was 14 of 19 from the free throw line, and grabbed 33 rebounds.

Jayme Gilbert turned in another excellent performance for Clay County with 23 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists.  Gilbert was 11 of 16 from the field and had an excellent 10 to 4 assist to turnover ratio.  Paige Jackson and 5-11 Jr. Amanda House added 15 and 10 points respectively.  Henry Clay was led by 6-0 Sr. Virginia Northcutt with 16 points and six rebounds.  Northcutt had three three point baskets for the game.

Clay County

18

16

15

13

-

62

Henry Clay

12

6

14

14

-

46


Clay County

(62) -

Aubrey 2, Gray 4, Roberts 8, Jackson 15, Gilbert 23, House 10.

Henry Clay

(46) -

Coleman 4, Bibbs 0, Rucker 1, Price 7, Nichols 8, Hamilton 1, Coles 2, Blankenship 5, Dozier 2, Northcutt 16.

Game 2  Lexington Christian vs. Bryan Station

This game was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict.

Game 3  Mercy Academy (10-5) vs. Tates Creek (11-2)

Mercy Academy coach Mark Evans started the following lineup:  5-8 Jr. Melissa Schindler, 5-8 Sr. Courtney Hall, 5-10 Sr. Sha'Lori Moore, 5-7 Jr. Mallory Luckett, and 5-11 Jr. Jenny Petrie.  Tates Creek coach Jan Ulmer countered with 6-1 Sr. Kristen Pendleton, 5-7 Sr. Derrica Morton, 6-2 Sr. Brittany Pittman, 5-4 Sr. Ginneria Harley, and 5-7 Sr. Philnisha Lindsey.  (Note: Tates Creek was without the services of 5-8 Jr. Shaquita Dowlen today due to illness.)

Kristen Pendleton hit a shot in the paint with less than a minute left in the game to give Tates Creek a 50-48 lead and the defense held on to give the Lady Commodores a big victory.  Tates Creek shot 39.6% from the field, connected on seven of 12 free throws, and pulled down 48 rebounds.  Mercy Academy shot 29.9% from the field, was three of seven from the free throw line, and grabbed 36 rebounds.  Mercy Academy scored 19 points off 20 Tates Creek turnovers.

Kristen Pendleton led Tates Creek with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Brittany Pittman was hampered by foul woes today but still added 12 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocked shots.  Jenny Petrie led Mercy Academy with 21 points including five three point baskets.  Sha'Lori Moore added nine points and pulled down eight rebounds.

Mercy Academy

16

6

12

14

-

48

Tates Creek

13

15

11

11

-

50


Mercy Academy

(48) -

Schindler 3, Hall 2, Moore 9, Luckett 6, Petrie 21, Stauble 4, Buss 3.

Tates Creek

(50) -

Pendleton 15, Morton 4, Pittman 12, Harley 7, Lindsey 8, Dumas 4.

Game 4  Knott County Central (12-2) vs. Paul Dunbar (7-10)

Knott County Central coach Rhett Gibson started the following lineup: 5-8 Sr. Elisha Hall, 5-7 Sr. Keisha Johnson, 5-10 Jr. Heather Martin, 5-6 Fr. Megan Mosley, and 5-9 Jr. Kasi Mullins-Galloway.  Paul Dunbar coach Rick Griffith countered with 5-8 Jr. Tanisha Wilson, 5-6 So. Ebonie Graham, 5-10 Fr. Chantelle Pressley, 5-5 Jr. AnnBruce Madden, and 5-6 Jr. Ranthony Clark.

Knott County Central defeated Paul Dunbar 52-43 tonight despite only shooting 25.4% from the field.  Knott County Central was 18 of 29 from the free throw line, and grabbed 48 rebounds.  Dunbar shot 40.5% from the field, connected on seven of 19 free throws, and pulled down 31 rebounds.

Knott County Central was led by Kentucky-signee Kasi Mullins-Galloway with 21 points.  Mullins-Galloway was only five of 20 from the field but connected on nine of 12 free throws.  Elisha Hall added nine points and 11 rebounds while Keisha Johnson chipped in with seven points and 13 rebounds.  Chantelle Pressley led Dunbar with 13 points and nine rebounds.  Ranthony Clark added 11 points.

Knott County Central

19

6

12

15

-

52

Paul Dunbar

5

11

8

19

-

43


Knott County Central

(52) -

Hall 9, Johnson 7, He. Martin 6, Mosley 7, Mullins-Galloway 21, Ha. Martin 2.

Paul Dunbar

(43) -

Wilson 7, Graham 4, C. Pressley 13, Madden 5, Clark 11, Barr 3.

Game 5  Trigg County (4-6) vs. Lafayette (9-6)

Trigg County coach Amy Breckel started the following lineup:  5-7 So. LaQuisha Boyd, 5-7 Jr. Davida Braxton, 5-7 Jr. Brandy Blakely, 5-5 Sr. Felicia Crenshaw, and 5-4 Jr. Molly Walters.  Lafayette coach Allison Tate Denton countered with 6-1 Sr. Lori Colson, 5-9 Sr. Lucy Clark, 6-0 Sr. Courtney Chenault, 5-7 Sr. Catie Morris, and 5-6 Jr. Katie Kelly.

Lafayette scored 45 points off 37 Trigg County turnovers in a 90-14 victory.  Lafayette shot 57.7% from the field, was four of four from the free throw line, and pulled down 39 rebounds.  Trigg County only managed five of 36 (13.9%) from the field, connected on two of eight free throws, and grabbed 24 rebounds.

The Lafayette coaching staff took advantage of the huge lead by playing 12 players for periods of time ranging from 7:59 to 18:54.  Lucy Clark led Lafayette with 26 points in 16.09 minutes.  Clark was 11 of 12 from the field and four of four from the free throw line.  5-9 Jr. Emily Slither and 5-5 So. Cassandra Lawson added 11 and 10 points respectively.  Felicia Crenshaw led Trigg County with nine points.

Trigg County

2

5

7

0

-

14

Lafayette

29

19

22

20

-

90


Trigg County

(14) -

Boyd 2, Braxton 0, Blakely 0, Crenshaw 9, Walters 3.

Lafayette

(43) -

Colson 8, Clark 26, Chenault 0, Morris 6, Kelly 0, Slither 11, Coles 6, Laswon 10, Wilkerson 2, Aldrich 4, Dillender 9, Christian 8.

Conclusion
 
Clay County's Jayme Gilbert continues to impress--she scores, rebounds, dishes the ball, and understands how to play the game.  Scott Cromwell has a lot of young talent at Henry Clay and will be a force to reckon with in the future.  The future is now for Tates Creek with their senior-laden lineup.  They are solid inside with Pittman and Pendleton, have good wing players in Dowlen, Lindsey, and Morton, and have been getting solid contributions off the bench in Ginneria Harley and 6-2 Sr. Tiffany Dumas.  Coach Mark Evans' Mercy teams always play hard and he never appears to rebuild--merely reload.  Coach Evans has a system in place and the girls adhere to it, always making the Jaguars a tough opponent.  Lafayette has been inconsistent this season but there is a lot of talent on this team and they could be a threat in the district tournament.  Lucy Clark knows how to score and 6-1 Sr. Lori Colson displays a lot of skills and looks like she could possibly play the “3” position at the collegiate level.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to the Lafayette coaching staff for the hospitality extended me during my visit.  Also, a special thanks to WL Stats for the computer stats provided for today's games.

Please feel free to send your comments and questions concerning the tournament, teams, or players to me at prephoops@yahoo.com .  

Ron Harrison’s reports on this and other basketball events appear on https://www.angelfire.com/ky/prephoops.