‘We know that we belong.’ Confident Danville Christian advances to Sweet 16 quarterfinals
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2025 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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A year ago, few knew or believed the 12th Region’s tiny Danville Christian had a Division I-caliber player and a team that could contend at the state tournament.
A breakout performance by 6-foot-5 soon-to-be Louisville signee Grace Mbugua and a near upset of then No. 2-ranked Cooper woke up the state to the Warriors.
This year, Danville Christian (26-7) has more belief in itself, a statewide All “A” Classic title and back-to-back region championships to its credit.
Thursday, DCA rode that experience and confidence to a big early lead over Daviess County and held on for a 53-40 victory in the first round of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls’ Basketball Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena.
“I think that we know that we belong in this tournament,” said Mbugua, who led the Warriors with 21 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. “We’ve been here before and we know what to expect.”
While Mbugua missed the first half of the season recovering from a knee injury, her team improved, not only with the addition of transfer point guard Alaya Quisenberry, but also with the growth and maturity of the players who’ve been part of the team’s rise the last few years.
Quisenberry scored 17 points to go with six assists, while Amauri Blackford added 12 points and seven rebounds, five on the offensive end.
Defensively, DCA stifled Daviess County in the first half, holding the Panthers to 6-for-19 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range as it built a 29-13 halftime lead.
DCA coach Billy Inmon lamented that his players relaxed on defense in the second half, but praised their effort.
“I just can’t say enough about the girls where they executed the defensive part of the game plan,” Inmon said. “I know they slipped a little in the last couple of minutes and gave them 3s that they shouldn’t have, but you take away those three or four minutes in the fourth, it was impeccable defense.”
Daviess County (21-13) eventually found its footing, outscoring the Warriors 27-24 in the second half, but the Panthers’ deficit had grown to 19 in the third quarter before they dug in.
Daviess coach Natalie Payne acknowledged her team’s early struggles were likely a combination of making the program’s first state tourney appearance, being in Rupp and facing a team with a 6-foot-5 center.
“When you have 6-4/6-5 whatever she is in the paint — we would get around and there she was. So, we were second-guessing a little bit and maybe playing a little back on our heels,” said Payne, who urged her team to change its mindset at halftime. “We just talked about ‘who cares who’s in the middle? You take it right at them. If you get blocked, you get blocked. … ‘ We fought till the final buzzer. I’m really proud of them.”
Kennedy Lane led Daviess County with 19 points.
Inmon said he had no idea who DCA would play next after its win over Daviess County. He professed to only scout one game at a time. The Warriors was to face Henderson County at 6 p.m. Friday, a team that held its opponent to just 30 points Thursday.
“I will not get any sleep tonight,” he said. “It’s nothing for me to watch six or seven games through the night. You know, I’ll sleep — but when this thing’s over. That’s how we do it.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 12:28 AM.
