‘Pick our poison.’ McCracken earns repeat trip to Sweet 16 semis with balanced offense.
This season’s third meeting between McCracken County and Bowling Green — a 47-41 Mustangs victory in the quarterfinals of the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 on Friday — did not disappoint.
McCracken County (31-5) led for more than 30 minutes of the game, but didn’t manage a secure, double-digit advantage until the fourth quarter; the Purples were always looming, outscoring McCracken County 13-9 in the third period and even pulling within one possession late in the quarter. However, instead of panicking the Mustangs opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, effectively taking control for good.
Head coach Scott Sivills called Friday’s rematch a “great game,” and that he “knew they were gonna be a tough matchup,” but relied on the leadership of seniors Mikee Buchanan, Miss Kentucky Basketball candidate and Samford signee Claire Johnson and Jayden Skaggs to get it done.
“I think we definitely expected a good game,” Johnson said. “... We were 1-1 this year. But just patience, staying calm, not trying to take any bad shots, waiting for the right shot and working together.”
Each member of the trio played the entire game (alongside eighth-grade starter Ava Hughes). Sivills called Buchanan, Johnson and Skaggs — who initially brought the Mustangs to the Sweet 16 three seasons ago for the first time in school history — “legends.”
Johnson finished with 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. Buchanan finished with 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the first half, and Skaggs scored nine, going 3-of-3 from long range, each of which landed in the second half when the Mustangs needed them most.
Bowling Green (24-11) head coach Calvin Head was proud of his team’s effort, noting that both programs have a good understanding of each other’s defensive strategies after so much competition.
“The score was right where we needed it to be, honestly,” Head said. “Right there in the 40s was right where we needed to be. A shot here or two may change the landscape of it, but, again, hats off to McCracken. … I thought our game plan was pretty good. Other than leaving Skaggs those couple of times, but we gotta pick our poison. Were we gonna let Claire shoot a layup or maybe hope Skaggs misses? So, Skaggs knocked them down and it kind of was the separating factor of the game.”
Senior NaTajia Alexander led the Purples with 13 points, seven of which came in the second half. Junior point guard NaTaya Wardlow added nine points and senior JaSiyah Franklin tacked on eight. This year marks the third time the Purples have reached the quarterfinals under Head, and the sixth time they’ve earned a trip to the Sweet 16.
Since first making the Sweet 16 in 2022, which resulted in a first-round exit, McCracken County has now reached back-to-back semifinals contests. The Mustangs were runners-up to champion Sacred Heart last season.
“Getting here, winning one game as a head coach is big for us. Any coach,” Sivills said. “Winning two games is above and beyond expectation, getting to a Final Four. Things that we dream about as coaches and players. Now we got to get some rest, come back, prepare, watch the next game and come back again tomorrow morning, 11 o’clock, do the same thing. So it’s something that now they believe in, and so we’re gonna continue to push forward and give our best tomorrow.”
