Kristen Jacob was the picture of patience in the post for Lexington Christian in its opening-round game against Tates Creek in the girls' 43rd District basketball tournament Monday night.
Jacob, a 6-foot-1 senior, was smothered by a box-and-one defense and didn't take a shot or score until late in the first half. But by the end of the evening, she had 14 points and 20 rebounds, and LCA had a 46-34 victory that earned it a shot at district host Lexington Catholic in Wednesday's semifinals.
"The past couple weeks, our guards have been doing really well," Jacob said. "I knew I could trust them. If I was double-teamed, I knew I could kick it out, and they could hit shots."
Katelin Bundy, Hannah Hartley and Kelli Mitchuson all hit shots from the perimeter as LCA stayed within striking distance of the Commodores. Jacob had the last five points of the half to pull the Eagles to within two, 19-17.
Over the last four minutes of the first half and the first nine minutes of the second, LCA outscored Tates Creek 25-5 to take a 38-24 lead.
The Commodores rallied with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to five, but LCA's Kristin Rinehart hit seven of eight free throws to help the Eagles blunt the comeback.
Rinehart had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Bundy added 10 points.
LCA Coach Jason Seamands said the game went as he hoped — with a slow pace and with his defense keeping the Commodores in check.
"We did a good job showing patience," Seamands said. "Even when we were down seven in the first half, I wasn't too worried. I felt like one run would be the difference."
Tates Creek's 6-1 senior, Peyton Hisel, and 5-8 junior, Katie Pippen, doubled up on Jacob early, but they had to back off when Hisel got two fouls. The Commodores eventually had to go man-to-man, and Jacob, who has signed with Campbellsville, got the ball in scoring position.
Tates Creek had its offensive woes, scoring only three points in a 12-minute stretch midway through the game.
Hisel, who has signed with Jacksonville State, led the Commodores with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three steals. Michelle Tichenor had five points, six rebounds and three steals. Pippen added four points and seven boards.
But Tates Creek couldn't overcome 23 percent shooting that included 3-for-22 on threes.
TATES CREEK (13-17) — Hisel 6-11 1-2 13, Pippen 1-10 0-0 4, Tichenor 1-5 3-6 5, Whaley 2-6 1-2 6, Harrison 1-20 0-0 3, Drake 1-4 0-0 3, Herron 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-57 5-10 34.
LEXINGTON CHRISTIAN (12-17) — Jacob 6-10 2-7 14, Rinehart 2-5 8-10 13, Mitchuson 1-3 0-0 3, Hartley 2-5 2-3 6, Bundy 4-9 0-1 10. Totals 15-32 12-21 46.
Tates Creek 10 9 5 10—34
Lexington Christian 7 10 16 13—46
