‘Shooters gotta shoot.’ Lockdown defense and a daring three lift Franklin Co. in Sweet 16
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2022 Girls’ Sweet 16 coverage
Click below to read all of the coverage from Kentucky.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader during the Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament in Rupp Arena.
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There were moments Wednesday when it felt like Henderson County could slip away from its opponent and pull out a first-round win in the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena.
For instance, late in the first half, Henderson’s Graci Risley made back-to-back three-pointers to put the Colonels up five with 16 seconds until intermission.
But a pair of Cameryn Ridderikhoff free throws cut the lead to 21-18 at the break. And seven seconds into the third period, Franklin County’s Jhaven Meade tied the game 21-21.
The Flyers, it seemed, would not yield.
And when Ridderikhoff let loose a three-pointer from the right corner with 56 seconds left in the game, it became clear Franklin County wasn’t going to lose either.
Ridderikhoff’s daring transition three put the Flyers up 45-41. They held on for a 46-43 victory over Henderson County to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.
“I’ll tell you about Cameryn a little bit. She’s really struggled,” Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker said. “She’s a freshman ... but she’s always made big shots. Shooters gotta shoot. We told her she’s gotta let one go … But at the same time, I think we were all shocked that we were up one and we fired one from 30 feet (probably closer to 23 feet).
“But it worked out.”
The big shot might have sealed it, but Franklin’s defense kept the Flyers in it. Franklin County forced 14 Henderson turnovers, got five blocks and held the Colonels to 37.5 percent shooting from the field. Franklin actually shot worse from the field. But, like Thacker said, it worked out.
“We’re probably not going to lead the state in scoring. We’ve got to do it on the defensive end,” Thacker said. “I felt like we made everything they wanted to do hard. We didn’t always do it well, sometimes, but the game slows down in March. Nobody’s coming in here and winning 75-74.”
Henderson County went up by as many as four points in both the third and fourth quarters, buoyed by three-pointers by Mallorie Veal during each mini run. Franklin County blocked those lapses out.
“After she made one, (the key is) not thinking about it,” Meade said. “Going back down and trying to score and coming back and getting a stop — not letting her hit another one.”
Henderson (24-5) had trouble dealing with Franklin’s size advantage all night, losing the rebounding battle 37-22, and suffered a serious setback when 5-foot-4 starter Kaytlan Kemp took a hard fall to the floor on a charge by Franklin’s 5-foot-10 Patience Laster with five minutes left in the game. Kemp’s head snapped back into the floor. She got up on her own, but did not return to the game.
“When Kemp went out, I think that took the wind out of our sails a little bit,” Henderson County Coach Jeff Haile said. “She’s our leader. She gets things done. ... She had eight assists up to that point. It was a tough break for us.”
Franklin County went on a 9-3 run with Kemp sidelined.
“It’s a tough loss for us,” Haile said. “We had the lead most of the ball game and we missed some shots we usually make. … Franklin County stuck with what they wanted to do and kept sticking with it. They went to (Laster) a little bit more in the fourth quarter and killed us on the boards. Give them credit.”
Laster led Franklin County with 12 points, Jazmin Chambers added 11. For Henderson, Veal scored 13 points, Risley 12 and Jarie Thomas, 10.
Franklin County (28-7) will face Southwestern in the quarterfinals at 11 a.m. Friday.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 7:31 AM.
