By DOUG EADS, CJ Correspondent
Somerset — Southwestern and Pulaski County are two teams that have been headed in opposite directions of late, but when they renew their rivalry tonight at The PC Gym, you can throw the records and the past out the proverbial window.
The Lady Maroons come into tonight’s game with a 10-13 record overall, but are in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.
Compounding matters for PC head coach Brian Miller, is the fact that he has lost two starters for the remainder of the season, Shelbie Phelps and Mariah Meeks, who are out due to having mono.
“Those are key losses for us, but I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason,” pointed out Miller. “When a key player goes down, somebody else has to be ready to step up and contribute in any what that they can.”
“With those two girls being out, it’s created some other opportunities for some of our younger kids, and hopefully they will be ready to take advantage of the playing time that’s available,” Miller remarked. “We’re not feeling sorry for ourselves one bit. We’ve just got to go out and compete as hard as we possibly can, and let the chips fall where they fall.”
Meanwhile, Southwestern comes into this matchup with a 16-7 record overall, and is coming in off a thrilling, 60-57 win over Somerset last Saturday night, in a game that saw junior guard Danay Fothergill hit a 26-footer at the buzzer to give the Lady Warriors a thrilling victory.
Fothergill, the second leading scorer in the state of Kentucky averaging 28.5 points per game, has been on fire of late.
Fothergill scored 41 points in an overtime loss at Wayne County last Friday, before notching 35 points last Saturday in the win over Somerset, which included the game-winning three-point bucket at the buzzer.
Despite the way things have been going for both clubs of late, Southwestern head coach Tim Rice says he isn’t taking anything for granted tonight, when his troops invade The PC Gym.
To the contrary, the Southwestern coach says he expects a war tonight with the Lady Maroons.
“I know they’ve got some of their main players out right now, but that really doesn’t matter as far as I’m concerned,” stated Rice.
“Anytime you play against Pulaski, you always know they’re going to play hard and they’re going to get after you defensively,” continued the SWHS head coach. “We have to make sure that we take care of the basketball and make the most of our shooting opportunities. Regardless of the players PC has out, I expect this to be a very hard-fought ballgame.”
As for Miller, the Lady Maroon coach has seen the losses of Phelps and Meeks almost as a blessing for his club, as it has allowed some opportunities and valuable experience for some of his younger kids.
Miller says that first and foremost, to have any shot at pulling off the upset over Southwestern tonight, his team must try to find a way to slow down the Lady Warriors big gun, Fothergill.
Slowing down Fothergill however may be much easier said than done.
“I’m not sure what we can do or who we’ve got to try to guard her,” Miller stated.
“Danay is arguably the best player in our region, and she’s just an outstanding basketball player,” continued the PC coach. “She can take you off the dribble and go to the hole and score, and if you leave her alone behind the arc, she will make you pay. She averaged 38 points per game over the weekend, and I don’t care who you are or who you’re playing against, putting up those kinds of numbers against anybody is flat out getting it done.”
Southwestern has been mentioned as a possible darkhorse in the 12th Region this season, and with two seventh graders starting in Adison Corder and Destiny Molden, Rice says his young team has even surpassed his own expectations.
“We didn’t really know what to expect coming into this season,” pointed out the SWHS head coach.
“We started out the year with four girls that had never started a varsity game, and two or three of those had never even played in a varsity game,” remarked the Lady Warrior head coach. “We’ve really came along a lot better and a lot quicker than I thought we would earlier in the year.”
Tipoff for tonight’s Southwestern—Pulaski County game is set to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
