By MICHAEL CHILDERS, CJ Correspondent
Stanford — The past two trips to the 12th Region Tournament hasn’t been kind to Southwestern head coach Tim Rice and his Lady Warrior club. Each trip was short-lived, losing both times in the opening round, sending the Lady Warriors home for the season. Last night at Lincoln County High School, Rice’s club got over the hump with a 61-50 victory over East Jessamine to advance to the 12th Region semi-finals.
Senior forward Emily Walker paced the Lady Warriors to victory by a stellar performance, scoring 12 of her 14 points in the opening period.
Things see-sawed back and forth in the opening four minutes, as there were four lead changes.
After falling behind 2-0, Walker put Southwestern on the board for the first time with an “old-fashioned” three-point play.
The Lady Jaguars’ Liz Miller then tallied two of her nine first quarter points to take a one-point lead.
The Lady Warriors would respond with eight unanswered points to take the lead for good. Two free-throws from Danay Fothergill and back-to-back three’s from Walker gave Southwestern an 11-4 lead.
In less than a minute, Walker gave Southwestern a 14-6 advantage with another trey.
Leading 16-8, the Lady Warriors went on a 7-0 run at the end of the first quarter to take a commanding 21-8 advantage. Two free-throws from Adison Corder, a put back from Jessica Pierce, and a Fothergill trifecta made up the Southwestern run.
Shortly after the run, Pierce got into foul trouble and had to be taken out to avoid committing anymore fouls.
Miller nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer; however, the Lady Jaguars trailed 21-11 after one quarter of play.
East Jessamine’s Alexus Calhoun opened the second stanza with back-to-back baskets, cutting the Lady Warrior lead to 21-15.
Fothergill then scored six straight points, in various fashions, to propel the Lady Warriors to a 27-15 lead. She scored on a lay-up, hit two free-throws, and hit a jumper.
Two players came off of the bench in the second quarter and stepped up tremendously for the ‘blue and orange.’ The first, Hannah Grant, filling in for Pierce, had a field goal, a free-throw, and pulled down two rebounds. The second, Brittany Combs, came in and busted a three-pointer from the corner, widening the Southwestern gap.
“Emily Walker stepped up and played well; everybody did,” said Rice. “When Jessica got into foul trouble, Hannah Grant came off the bench and done an outstanding job. She held her own in the second quarter and played great.”
At the intermission, Southwestern had a 35-19 hold over East Jessamine.
Lady Jaguar head coach Jacqueline Coleman must have said something pretty fiery to her squad at halftime; because they were a different team. In the first half, her club scored 19 total points. In the third quarter alone, East Jessamine matched that total with 19 points.
Calhoun began the second half with a basket down-low, sparking a 7-0 spurt for the Lady Jaguars. The run was capped off by an Emily Underwood three and another Calhoun basket.
Rice took a time-out with 5:42 left in the third to attempt to cool off the charging Lady Jaguars.
Corder netted two points out of the time-out, putting the East Jessamine run to a halt. The Lady Warriors now lead 37-26. Corder then found Walker inside for two points, putting Southwestern ahead by 13 points at 39-26.
The two teams traded baskets for the remaining minutes of the quarter. Fothergill drove to the hoop three times for a lay-up, keeping her Lady Warrior team out front.
Corder hit a three at the buzzer to expand Southwestern’s lead to 51-38 after three quarters.
Despite being outscored 19 to 16 in the third, Southwestern managed to stay out front at the beginning of the ballgame. The Lady Jaguars managed to cut a 16-point lead down to nine points, but that was as close as it got.
The junior duo of Fothergill and Pierce came up big for Rice in the fourth, as the two combined for all of the Lady Warriors’ ten fourth quarter points. Pierce tallied six points in the final period as Fothergill chipped in with four.
Underwood attempted to pull her Lady Jaguar team back with seven points in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.
Southwestern won by a final score of 61-50, earning a date with Lincoln County, in the 12th Region semi-finals on Friday night.
“I thought it was one of the better performances that we’ve had in quite a while,” stated the Lady Warrior head coach. “We had 35 points on the board at halftime. We like to play in transition, and tonight, I thought it worked out real well for us.”
The Lady Warriors won the battle from the charity stripe, shooting 75 percent, compared to East Jessamine’s 14 percent.
Southwestern nearly out shot East Jessamine, going 44 percent from the field while the Lady Jaguars went 42 percent.
Liz Miller led the way for East Jessamine with 17 points. Two other players reached double figures for the Lady Jaguars. Alexus Calhoun had 15 points while Emily Underwood added to the total with 14 points.
Danay Fothergill had a game-high 23 points, six steals, and five assists in the Lady Warrior victory. Emily Walker had 14 points, on the strength of three treys. Jessica Pierce finished the contest with a double-double. Pierce had 11 points and ten rebounds.
The Lady Warriors will have until Friday to get ready for their next opponent, Lincoln County, who were victorious over Casey County last night 49-40. It will be a tough one for Southwestern, as they will have to face the Lady Patriots on their home floor. The Lady Patriots had their way with Southwestern in their regular season match-up in Stanford back on January 23rd, winning 59-44.
Rice feels that his club has grown tremendously since that January Saturday, and he believes that his team will perform better on Friday night.
“When you get to the final four of the Region, you’re going to play someone good,” stated Rice. “I’m sure we’re the underdog, the best team doesn’t always win it. I’m just pleased and really proud of how far this team has come this year.”
Tip-off is slated for Friday night at 6:00 p.m. at Lincoln County High School.
EJ 11 08 19 12 - 50
SW 21 14 16 10 - 61
EJ: Miller 17, Calhoun 15, Underwood 14, Lee 2, Mason 2
SW: Fothergill 23, Walker 14, Pierce 11, Corder 7, Combs 3, Grant 3
