Lady Colonels Will Take On The Lady Royals Tonight In The 10th Region Tournament
MEADE TIME – The Last time Bourbon played Mason County, Lady Colonel freshman center Jhaven Meade, shown here at the free throw line against George Rogers Clark in the 40th district final, had a big night by scoring 22 points and pulling down 18 rebounds. WARREN TAYLOR I Bourbon Schools Media Relations
Bourbon Will Be Looking For Their First Win
At The Region Tournament In 26 Years
IVAN K. RICE I doctorofsports@aol.com
ALEXANDRIA, KY – From this area, they are the last team standing and the only hope of getting a local team to Rupp Arena.
Tonight, at Campbell County Middle School, Coach Bill Watson’s Bourbon County Lady Colonels will take the court in the opening round of the Girls 10th Region Basketball Tournament for the fifth time over the past six years when they square off against Coach Brad Cox’s Lady Royals of Mason County.
The two teams met back on February 21st inside Russ Day Gym with Bourbon coning out on top 58-38. That night saw the Lady Royals miss 42 of their 56 shot attempts, mostly because of the defensive pressure applied on them by the Lady Colonels. However, since that encounter, Mason County has been a totally different team.
GOING UP – Bourbon Country junior Hannah Hamelback, after pulling down the offensive rebound, got off this shot attempt just in front of GRC’s Kennedy Igo and Brianna Byars. Hamelback finished the 40th District title game that was won by GRC with a team-high 15 points. WARREN TAYLOR I Bourbon Schools Media Relations
Over their past three games, the Royals (15-15) have averaged 70 points per outing, while giving up just under 40 points (38.6) per game. During their three game win streak, after the loss to Bourbon, three particular Lady Royals have been nearly unstoppable.
Senior guard Haley White has led the way by averaging just under 20 points during their mini win streak. Junior guards Rachel Payne (15.6) and Mylin Henry (9.7) are the other two that have stepped up their game. In addition to that, White knocked down 13 three point goals over those three games, while Mason as a team, hit 26 treys, including 10 in a win over St. Patrick for the 39th District Title.
During their win in Paris over Mason, freshman center Jhaven Meade had a monstrous night by scoring 22 points, while grabbing 18 rebounds for Bourbon. Junior leading scorer McLain Murphy had 13 points and 6 rebounds, while junior workhorse Hannah Hamelback finished the evening with 8 points and 14 rebounds. Bella Mitchell, also a junior, came off the bench to provide some valuable minutes for her team after scoring a season-high 9 points. Sophomore guard Jaydyn “Shorty” Goodwin totaled 3 points and 8 rebounds. Bourbon played this game without the services of All-District and All-Region performer Lyndsay Johnson. Her status for tonight’s game is still unknown as of this writing.
MURPHY LOOKING TO GET TO THE RACK – Lady Colonel junior and leading scorer McLain Murphy used her off-arm to get some separation between her and GRC defender Trinity Gay, during the Lady Colonels’ loss against GRC in the district championship game. WARREN TAYLOR I Bourbon Schools Media Relations
“Mason will be prepared,” Coach Watson shared over a text message. “They are well coached, and for us to win, we need to play well and hopefully, put the ball in the basket.”
The last time these two teams met in the region tournament was 2016 at Campbell County. Mason, who came into that contest as the defending region champion, escaped Bourbon in overtime after the Lady Colonels’ sharpshooter Haley Yazell, who was 10 for 10 at the line leading up to that point of the game, missed two free throws at the end of regulation that would’ve given her team the victory.
A win by Bourbon County (19-13) tonight would be their first in the region tournament since 1994, as well as their second consecutive 20 win season, something they haven’t accomplished since the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Game time is set for 7:45.
2020 40TH DISTRICT RUNNER-UP – For the fifth time in six years, Coach Bill Watson’s Bourbon County Lady Colonels finished as district tournament runner-up after they dropped the championship game to defending 7-time champion George Rogers Clark last week inside the new GRC Arena. They will play Mason County tonight in the opening round of the 10th Region Tournament tonight at Campbell County Middle School in Alexandria.
WARREN TAYLOR I Bourbon Schools Media Relations
