By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Stanford — All good things must come to an end. Last night at Lincoln County High School, the Lady Patriots of Lincoln County ended Southwestern’s stellar season with a 63-49 victory in the semi-finals of the Girls’ 12th Region Tournament.
Early on, it looked as if the underdog Lady Warriors would upset the state’s number four team (Lincoln County) on their home floor. The Lady Warriors lead by four points after one quarter, but a 12-0 run by the Lady Patriots in the second quarter proved to be the difference in this one.
In the end, it was the Lady Patriots’ three-headed monster of Nikki Bustle, Jessica Upchurch, and Kendra Brown, pacing Lincoln County to victory, and into tonight’s Championship game.
“I thought we played hard,” stated Lady Warrior head coach Tim Rice. “I thought we did what we had to do to stay in the ballgame. Lincoln County is a very talented team.”
In the opening stanza, the two teams went back and forth, as there were four lead changes.
Adison Corder nailed a three-pointer in the opening minute, giving Southwestern a 3-0 start. The Lady Patriots responded with an 8-2 run, on the strength of two Nikki Bustle three-pointers. Here came the Lady Warriors. Corder hit another trey to notch the score back up at 8-8. Danay Fothergill converted on an “and-one” opportunity, and took a steal to the rack, giving Southwestern a 13-8 advantage.
Leading 13-10, Fothergill hit a three from way downtown to expand the Lady Warriors’ lead to six.
Emily Walker got her name into the scorebook with a three, widening the gap at 19-12.
Lincoln County’s Jessica Upchurch concluded the first quarter with a three-pointer, cutting Southwestern’s lead to four at 19-15.
There were three’s aplenty in the first period, as the two clubs combined for seven made treys in the first eight minutes of play.
Fothergill tallied 10 of her total 28 points in the opening quarter.
Emily Fox and Bustle each hit a trifecta to give the Lady Patriots a 21-19 lead. Fothergill tied the game back up at 21 with a lay-up.
An Upchurch put back gave Lincoln County a 23-21 lead. Her basket sparked a 12-0 run, and put the Lady Patriots out front for the rest of the game.
Jessica Pierce ended Lincoln County’s onslaught with a basket in the final two minutes of the half.
The Lady Patriots outscored Southwestern 15 to 4 to take a 30-23 lead at the intermission.
The second quarter couldn’t have ended quickly enough for Rice’s Lady Warriors. His team committed six costly turnovers and went two of six from the field. In the first quarter alone, the Lady Warriors made six field goals.
“We started off hitting some shots,” pointed out Rice. “We had a lull there in the second quarter. We tightened up and just didn’t play very well.”
Lincoln County ran the table in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Warriors 19 to 11; in route to taking a 49-34 lead. For Lincoln, Brown and Upchurch went to work, as the pair each scored six points. Fothergill and Pierce scored all of Southwestern’s third quarter points. Fothergill tallied seven while Pierce chipped in with four. The Lady Patriots shot sixty percent in the quarter, going nine of 15 from the field.
In the first minute of the final period, Fothergill cut the lead to twelve at 49-37 with a three from the corner.
Two quick baskets from Brown and Upchurch widened the lead to 53-37.
Three-pointers from Fothergill and Walker got the Lady Warriors back into the ballgame.
Southwestern cut the lead to ten points at 57-47 with just under 3:30 left to play, but it wasn’t enough, as the Lady Patriots won 63-49.
“I’m proud of my little team, we gave it everything we had tonight,” stated the Southwestern head coach.
Lincoln County had four players get into double figurers. Kendra Brown led the charge for the victorious Lady Patriots with 17 points. Nikki Bustle, with the help of four three’s, finished with 14 points. Jessica Upchurch finished with 15 points. The trio totaled 46 of Lincoln County’s 63 points. Emily Fox reached double figures with 11 points.
Only four players got their name into the scoring column for Southwestern. Danay Fothergill had a game-high 28 points, with four three-pointers. Emily Walker had nine points, nailing three trifectas. Jessica Pierce and Adison Corder each finished with six points.
Both teams had stellar nights from the charity stripe. Lincoln County went six of eight for 75 percent while Southwestern shot ten of 11 for 91 percent. The two squads also combined for 16 total three-pointers. Southwestern made nine while the Lady Patriots converted on seven.
With the loss, the Lady Warriors will go home for the season, but Rice says that he has nothing to frown upon.
“I love all of these girls,” continued Rice. “They played so hard for me all year long and I’m looking forward to next year.”
The Lady Warriors’ final season record was 20-10, the best record ever for a Southwestern team.
Last night, seniors Emily Walker and Bethany Perry played their final game in a ‘Blue and Orange’ uniform. And Rice had nothing but kind words to say to the two exiting seniors.
“Emily Walker stepped up big late in the year for us,” said Rice. “She hit some big shots. Bethany Perry will also be missed; she practiced really hard every day. These are two fine girls, and I will surely miss them.”
The Lady Patriots, the number four team in the State, will square-off with Rockcastle County, the number five team, in tonight’s 12th Region Championship contest. The Lady Rockets advance to tonight’s Championship game after a thumping of Monticello last night.
Last season, Lincoln County upset the Lady Rockets 50-49 in the 12th Region semi-finals. In their only meeting this season, the Lady Rockets won 63-47 in Stanford. Chrysti Noble’s club will return to Stanford once again to face Don Story’s Lady Patriots. Tonight’s Championship game should be a barn-burner.
Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Lincoln County High School.
SW 19 04 11 15 — 49
LC 15 15 19 14 — 63
SOUTHWESTERN — Fothergill 28, Walker 9, Corder 6, Pierce 6.
LINCOLN COUNTY — Brown 17, Upchurch 15, Bustle 14, Fox 11, Patterson 4, Smith 2.
