42nd District Tournament: Bryan Station girls upset Scott County

It didn’t take long for the high school basketball postseason to get stirred up in Central Kentucky.

Bryan Station’s girls made sure of that as they walked into Scott County and upset the No. 1-seeded Cardinals 79-74 in the first semifinal of the 42^nd District Tournament on Monday.

Station’s first win in three games against Scott County this season put the Defenders in the 42nd finals and into the 11th Region tournament for the first time since 2013.

“We had three days of just great, great practices,” Bryan Station Coach Shawn Ransom said. “The last time we played ’em, over at our place, we felt like we had that one and kind of let it slip away a bit at the end. But the Lord works in mysterious ways and that was a chance for us to learn.”

With her team trailing 73-72, Defenders senior Destiny Cozart stripped the ball from Bailey Hawkins between the Cards’ three-point line and midcourt and got down to the other end for an and-one bucket. She connected on the free throw with 34 seconds left to put Station ahead 75-73.

Scott County’s Lauren Boehm drew a foul on Carah Burdette, her fifth, on the Cards’ next possession. Boehm hit the first of two before Cozart connected on a pair on Station’s next trip. Scott County missed a long three-point shot, and the rebound went to Bryan Station. Jlyn Martin, who led the Defenders with 22 points, hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left.

“It was win or go home, so something had to be done,” Cozart said of her game-changing steal. “Defense wins championships.”

It certainly made a difference in this game. Station came away with 15 steals and had eight turnovers to 18 for Scott County.

Cozart was quick to give credit to fellow senior DeAizha Jackson, who played only 26 seconds but helped keep Scott County from getting any easy buckets at the end.

“DeAizha closed the game out,” Cozart said. “ … It’s the little things that count. I’m just happy right now.”

Burdette was the fourth Defender to foul out in the fourth quarter, a period in which Scott County had 22 free-throw attempts to eight for Station.

Ezzy Ighodaro had 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals before being disqualified with 5:39 remaining in the game. Asjah Hall got into foul trouble early and was done at the 4:38 mark. Zariah Cavanaugh capitalized on an and-one opportunity to put the Defenders up 70-66, then picked up her fifth foul on the Cards’ next possession with 2:09 left.

Rapid accumulation of fouls up has been an issue for Station, one Ransom called a “pet peeve” rather than an outright problem.

“I don’t really blame my girls a lot cause I want them playing aggressive,” Ransom said. “Fouls can go either way. It’s a 50-50 call.”

Station led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter before Scott County rallied to take its first lead, 21-20, in the second quarter. The Cardinals led 31-29 at halftime before Station reclaimed the edge in the third. Ighodaro hit a tough layup on an out-of-bounds play with 0.9 seconds left and made the free throw to give Station a 57-49 lead heading into the final period.

Sophomore Peyton Riddle led Scott County with 25 points and had eight rebounds. Boehm, a junior, had 15 points and a game-high 25 rebounds for the Cards. The Cardinals will return the bulk of their production next season.

Ransom’s confident his Defenders aren’t finished making noise in 2016. They’ve got at least two more games to do it.

“I’m telling you right now, the Bryan Station Lady Defenders are coming down here Thursday night to cut the nets down,” Ransom said. “I mean that. I love my team, I love my school. They believe in me and I believe in them.”

Scott County pulls away from Sayre

A 14-9 game in the first quarter got away from Sayre in the second half as Scott County blew out the Spartans for the second time this season, 85-49.

Freshman Michael Moreno led Scott County with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Jake Duby had a game-high 21 points for Sayre.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 10:08 PM with the headline "42nd District Tournament: Bryan Station girls upset Scott County."