By DOUG EADS, CJ Correspondent
By DOUG EADS
CJ Correspondent
In the championship game of the Pulaski County Invitational Tournament on Thursday afternoon, something was going to have to give.
The home-standing Lady Maroons came into the contest with a 10-3 mark overall, and were riding a seven-game winning streak.
The Scott Lady Eagles meanwhile, brought a very respectable 8-2 record into the game, and like PC, was in the midst of a seven-game winning streak.
On paper, this one looked to be an outstanding matchup, and on the court, it was the same way.
This one was a barn-burner from the outset, and had a feel of a regional tournament game in early-March.
The game see-sawed back and forth, with both teams have chances to win it in regulation.
However, this one couldn’t be decided in 32 minutes.
The two clubs played to overtime, with the Lady Eagles basically making one more play down the stretch, to bring home the championship and ending PC’s winning streak at seven, with a hard-fought, 52-49 victory over Pulaski County.
“We’ve came a long ways and let’s just start by saying that — we’ve came a long ways,” stated a very happy Brian Miller, even after his team was denied its second tourney title in the past two weeks with the setback.
“Last year at this time, I’ll just be honest, we wouldn’t have had a shot in this one,” stated the PC head coach very matter of factly. “Our kids just played their rear ends off tonight — it’s just that plain and simple — and I’m very proud of them.”
Indeed, PC may have fell victim to the Lady Eagles and 6-foot-five inch junior center Lauren Tibbs, who led everybody with 31 points, but PC gave Scott all it could handle and then some.
Midway through the third period, Scott enjoyed a five-point lead over PC at 32-27, but somebody forgot to tell the Lady Maroons they were not supposed to be in this one.
Miller’s club went on a 9-0 run at that juncture, to go up on the Lady Eagles by a count of 36-32.
Brooke Cable hit a runner, Mariah Meeks converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and Brittany Warren picked up and steal and a layup during the flurry.
PC led Scott, 36-34 headed into the fourth quarter, and had it not been for some crucial missed free throws, the Lady Maroons would have won this one in regulation.
With the score knotted up at 43-43 with 1:07 left in the game, Scott’s Taylor Jackson was called for a foul, and then was hit with a technical.
Haley Warren went to the charity stripe and calmly sank both technical free throws, but Cable was short on the front end of the one and one.
A Tibbs bucket knotted things up at 45-45, sending both teams into overtime.
In that extra session, PC would never lead, as Scott’s April Henson made a couple of free throws down the stretch to hold back the Lady Maroons by the 52-49 margin.
“We had a chance to win the ballgame, because we were up seven in the fourth quarter with about three and a half minutes to go, and our kids are not used to being in that position,” stated Miller.
“Scott’s a heck of a basketball team, and you saw what they had done in this tournament and who all they had beaten coming into tonight’s game against us, and we still had a chance to win,” continued the Lady Maroon coach. “Our kids had a deer in the headlights look at times, and we just didn’t execute coming down the stretch.”
Brooke Cable led PC in scoring in the defeat with 17 points while Mariah Meeks chipped in with 13.
Cable, Meeks, and Shelbie Phelps were the three Pulaski County players that were named to the All-Tournament Team afterwards.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To get to the championship game of the Pulaski County Invitational, the home-standing Lady Maroons would have to get past Cumberland County on Wednesday night in the final game of the round-robin format.
No problem.
PC ran its record to 10-3 overall, while picking up its seventh consecutive win in very impressive fashion with a 65-41 victory over the Lady Panthers.
In short, Cumberland County just didn’t have an answer on this particular night for Pulaski County’s Mariah Meeks.
Meeks led everyone with a game-high 28 points while ripping down 16 boards, in sending her club to the championship game of the tournament with the 24-point victory.
“The thing about Mariah is that we keep telling her she can do that every single night,” stated a very happy Brian Miller, after watching his club roll to its seventh straight win.
“She’s still young and she’s sophomore with only a year and a half of experience, but she’s getting better and she’s starting to believe that she can be our go-to player when we need a basket,” continued the PC head coach. “She’s starting to finish, and the good thing over the past couple of nights, she’s beginning to make her free throws.”
With Meeks totally dominating this game on the inside, PC led it from wire to wire, although the Lady Panthers hung tough for a while.
Pulaski built up a 10-point lead at 23-13 early in the second quarter, but the Lady Panthers would fight back.
In fact, when Eryn Smith completed an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:44 remaining in the first half of play, PC’s lead had been trimmed down to just three points, at 30-27.
Problem however for Andrew Reliford’s club, was that for the rest of the contest, Cumberland County would be held to just three made field goal thanks to a very stingy PC defense.
And, after Smith’s three-point play, the Lady Maroons seized control of the contest by ending the half on a 7-0 spurt.
A Shelbie Phelps bucket eased the lead back out to five at 32-27, Haley Warren added a free throw, Deanna Wiles knocked down a jumper, and Phelps came up with a steal, was fouled, and sank both of her free throws.
That run over the last 1:44 of the half was a modest one at 7-0, yet, it was all that PC needed to put Cumberland County in its rear-view mirror and never look back.
“That run to end the first half really did set the tone for the second half,” pointed out coach Miller.
“Shelbie just makes things happen when we need her to,” Miller stated. “Our defense leads to offense, and we’ve got to have that before we score. Meeks is beginning to give us a real presence in the post, and we’re just starting to get a little better. Our decision making has to get better, but we’re playing a lot of young kids and you’ve sometimes just got to let them play through some of their mistakes.”
Once again PC had 10 players hit the scoring column, with Meeks being the lone player in double figures with her game-high 28 points.
With the win, the 10-3 Lady Maroons advanced to the title game, where they were to run up against Scott High School out of Covington, Kentucky.
CC 13 14 7 7 — 41
PC 19 18 12 16 — 65
CUMBERLAND CO. — Eryn Smith 9, T. Davidson 8, A. Davidson 8, Eliza Smith 7, Dyer 7, Capps 2
PULASKI CO. — Meeks 28, Phelps 6, Tilley 6, Wiles 5, Cable 5, B. Warren 4, H. Warren 4, Hatfield 3, Brock 2, Hyden 2
In the championship game of the Pulaski County Invitational Tournament on Thursday afternoon, something was going to have to give.
The home-standing Lady Maroons came into the contest with a 10-3 mark overall, and were riding a seven-game winning streak.
The Scott Lady Eagles meanwhile, brought a very respectable 8-2 record into the game, and like PC, was in the midst of a seven-game winning streak.
On paper, this one looked to be an outstanding matchup, and on the court, it was the same way.
This one was a barn-burner from the outset, and had a feel of a regional tournament game in early-March.
The game see-sawed back and forth, with both teams have chances to win it in regulation.
However, this one couldn’t be decided in 32 minutes.
The two clubs played to overtime, with the Lady Eagles basically making one more play down the stretch, to bring home the championship and ending PC’s winning streak at seven, with a hard-fought, 52-49 victory over Pulaski County.
“We’ve came a long ways and let’s just start by saying that — we’ve came a long ways,” stated a very happy Brian Miller, even after his team was denied its second tourney title in the past two weeks with the setback.
“Last year at this time, I’ll just be honest, we wouldn’t have had a shot in this one,” stated the PC head coach very matter of factly. “Our kids just played their rear ends off tonight — it’s just that plain and simple — and I’m very proud of them.”
Indeed, PC may have fell victim to the Lady Eagles and 6-foot-five inch junior center Lauren Tibbs, who led everybody with 31 points, but PC gave Scott all it could handle and then some.
Midway through the third period, Scott enjoyed a five-point lead over PC at 32-27, but somebody forgot to tell the Lady Maroons they were not supposed to be in this one.
Miller’s club went on a 9-0 run at that juncture, to go up on the Lady Eagles by a count of 36-32.
Brooke Cable hit a runner, Mariah Meeks converted an old-fashioned three-point play, and Brittany Warren picked up and steal and a layup during the flurry.
PC led Scott, 36-34 headed into the fourth quarter, and had it not been for some crucial missed free throws, the Lady Maroons would have won this one in regulation.
With the score knotted up at 43-43 with 1:07 left in the game, Scott’s Taylor Jackson was called for a foul, and then was hit with a technical.
Haley Warren went to the charity stripe and calmly sank both technical free throws, but Cable was short on the front end of the one and one.
A Tibbs bucket knotted things up at 45-45, sending both teams into overtime.
In that extra session, PC would never lead, as Scott’s April Henson made a couple of free throws down the stretch to hold back the Lady Maroons by the 52-49 margin.
“We had a chance to win the ballgame, because we were up seven in the fourth quarter with about three and a half minutes to go, and our kids are not used to being in that position,” stated Miller.
“Scott’s a heck of a basketball team, and you saw what they had done in this tournament and who all they had beaten coming into tonight’s game against us, and we still had a chance to win,” continued the Lady Maroon coach. “Our kids had a deer in the headlights look at times, and we just didn’t execute coming down the stretch.”
Brooke Cable led PC in scoring in the defeat with 17 points while Mariah Meeks chipped in with 13.
Cable, Meeks, and Shelbie Phelps were the three Pulaski County players that were named to the All-Tournament Team afterwards.
