Franklin County eyes repeat in 11th Region girls’ tournament

No 11th Region girls’ basketball team has repeated as champion since Lexington Catholic won four straight tournaments from 2003 to 2006, culminating in Sweet Sixteen titles the last two of those seasons.

Franklin County has the experience to earn a second straight berth to the big dance. A five-deep senior class led by Miss Basketball candidate and Western Kentucky signee Malaka Frank, along with several talented juniors, overcame Henry Clay last year in the region finals before falling in the first round at state. Coach Joey Thacker “hopes and prays” that after those experiences his girls understand every opponent will bring its “A” game to the court from here on out.

First up is Madison Southern, with whom the Flyers open Monday night. The Eagles are similar to Franklin County in that they like to pound the glass and get up more shots than their opponents, Thacker said. Senior Brianna Lanham (20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds) and sophomore Ashlynn Clark (10.6 points) create a “pick-your-poison” tandem. They’ll enter with a chip on their shoulder, as their season ended to Franklin County in the semifinals of last year’s tournament.

“They just do so many things well,” Thacker said. “Coach (Summer) Simmons has brought a system mentality in there and just stayed with it. They’ve had two really good years back to back.”

Looming in the semifinals is a possible rematch with Henry Clay. The Flyers won in the final seconds of last year’s region finals and took the most recent meeting, 64-53 in Lexington, earlier this season.

Thacker thinks his group’s maturity won’t allow it to get caught looking ahead. Princess Stewart and Rebecca Cook, juniors who lead the team in scoring, add a level of competitiveness Thacker called them the most serious he’s “been around in my life, in any sport.” That combination, coupled with the seniors who’ve been around since seventh grade, puts Franklin County in terrific position heading to Richmond.

“You gotta hope that that’s a feather in your cap when it comes to this time of year,” Thacker said. “ ... Regardless of what happens the next three days or Monday night, it’s just been a special bunch to coach. The bottom line is they’ve made my job a lot easier by the way they’ve gone about things on a daily basis.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Franklin County eyes repeat in 11th Region girls’ tournament."