‘Shared sacrifice.’ Franklin County bench steps up, defense shows out in Sweet 16 win.
Franklin County doesn’t rank as the toughest defense in the 2024 Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16, but it put on a defensive clinic Wednesday in a 51-30 win over North Laurel in the final game of the state tournament’s first day of action at Rupp Arena.
“I’m just proud of how we guarded,” Franklin County coach Joey Thacker said. “We made it real hard on them. We had to. … I thought our kids really bought in, played their assignments well and then defense turned into offense.”
The Flyers outscored North Laurel 17-7 in the second quarter as Bellarmine signee Rachel Shropshire scored eight of her team-high 14 points on a pair of 3-pointers and a putback to help her team extend its lead to 26-14 at halftime.
Later, after North Laurel got within seven points with 4:51 to play in the third quarter, Shropshire hit a layup and foul shot followed by her third 3-pointer of the game on back-to-back possessions to help push the Flyers’ advantage to 11 points at 34-23 a minute later.
“They stretched the lead for us,” Shropshire said of her baskets, despite being a little shy in the postgame press conference.
Coach Thacker helped her out. “You made big shots,” he whispered, smiling.
“I made big shots,” she echoed, laughing.
Franklin County’s bench helped too, especially after starting center Juliana Frazee went down with an ankle injury late in the first half. Keyonna Taylor was among the players picking up the slack the rest of the way. Taylor finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Backup point guard Makiyia Wheeler dished out nine assists to go with her six points.
“We have a thing on our shirt that says “shared sacrifice,” Thacker explained. “We play 10 kids, and we knew we had some other kids that would step up and they did.”
The Jaguars (29-6) shot 27.5% from the field and went 0-for-12 from the 3-point line as the Flyers flustered them with a man-to-man defense in the first half and a zone in the second.
Mariella Claybrook was the only Jaguar to reach double figures with 10 points. Franklin County held North Laurel to half its scoring average and held its leading scorers, Brooke Nichelson and Chloe McKnight to six and five points, respectively, far below their norms (18.3 and 13.9).
And Nichelson could not avoid foul trouble. She picked up her third and fourth fouls in the first half of the third period. After a brief stint on the bench, she picked up her fifth foul with 1:06 left in the third, ending her night.
“Mentally, I did not have them ready,” North Laurel coach Eddie Mahan Jr. said. “Whatever the outcome, rest assured the blame is here on me.”
The back-to-back 13th Region champions took a while to “get the nerves out” in Rupp, Mahan said. “By that point in time, they already had a lead and we were playing from behind.”
Next, Franklin County (30-6) will face Louisville’s Butler in the 1:30 p.m. Friday quarterfinals. The Bearettes, 58-49 winners over Anderson County earlier Wednesday, pose a number of challenges, including 6-foot-5 Kentucky signee Ramiya White.
Thacker did not know the health status of his 6-foot-2 center, Frazee, who finished with five points, three blocks and two steals. Regardless, Thacker believed his team will be ready.
“Once you get here, you’re here for a reason,” Thacker said. “We feel like we just got to go do what we do and see where the chips fall.”
2024 Girls’ Sweet 16
What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.
When: Wednesday through Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org/tickets.
Girls’ Sweet 16 schedule
At Rupp Arena
WEDNESDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
Bowling Green 46, Owsley County 44
McCracken County 50, Russell 33
Butler 58, Anderson County 49
Franklin County 51, North Laurel 30
THURSDAY’S FIRST-ROUND GAMES
1:30 p.m.: Owensboro (20-11) vs. Henderson County (25-7)
6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark (30-4) vs. Sacred Heart (27-7)
8:30 p.m.: Cooper (29-4) vs. Danville Christian (29-2)
FRIDAY’S QUARTERFINALS
11 a.m.: Bowling Green (24-10) vs. McCracken County (30-5)
1:30 p.m.: Butler (27-8) vs. Franklin County (30-6)
6 p.m.: George Rogers Clark-Sacred Heart winner vs. Bethlehem (27-8)
8:30 p.m.: Cooper-Danville Christian winner vs. Henderson County-Owensboro winner
SATURDAY’S GAMES
11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s afternoon session
1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session
7 p.m.: Championship
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 12:04 AM.
