11th Region girls: Bryan Station, Franklin County to meet in finals

Tournament bracket

After leading by as much as 15 in the first half, Bryan Station had to rally multiple times in the fourth quarter to force overtime and come away with a 61-58 upset of Lafayette in the second girls’ semifinal Friday night in EKU’s Alumni Coliseum.

The win put Bryan Station in the finals for the first time since 1999.

“I tell you what,” Bryan Station Coach Shawn Ransom said. “That was one heck of a ball game by two competitive teams.”

The Defenders jumped out to a 23-8 lead early in the second quarter but saw the edge dwindle amid an 11-2 Lafayette run. A pair of free throws by Lafayette sophomore Terri Abram gave the Generals their first lead at 48-46 with 3:35 left. The teams exchanged multiple buckets and free throws in the final three minutes to keep it even before Lafayette’s Aisha Conwell drew iron on a three-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded in regulation.

“I think we wore ’em down a bit in the first half,” Ransom said. “Coming out in the second half I was a little perturbed about our team not trying to attack. ... We kind of hit a wall there for a four- or five-minute span.”

Carah Burdette hit four free throws in the final minute of regulation for Station but missed a pair to open overtime. She redeemed herself with a strip and score to put Station ahead with 2:19 to play. Abram answered with a bucket for the Generals to knot it at 56 with 1:12 to go.

Jlyn Martin put in an and-one shot — the foul assessed to Lafayette star center Kiara Pankins, her fifth — and hit the free throw to put Station on top for good 59-56 with 59.8 left.

Conwell knocked in a two-pointer to get Lafayette within 59-58, but on their next possession the Generals rushed a jumper and Station secured the rebound. Destiny Cozart knocked in a pair of free throws and Ezzy Ighodaro came away with a steal to seal it for the Defenders.

“My team responded the way that I knew they could,” Ransom said. “The Lord’s blessing us with our season. ... We’re so excited for the opportunity to play for the region title down here tomorrow night.”

Franklin County flies by Henry Clay

Franklin County forced its will on Henry Clay from the start and never let up, soaring to a 51-31 win Friday night to earn its second straight berth in the 11^th Region girls’ championship game on Saturday.

Neither team shot the ball well — they combined to go 23.4 percent from the floor — but the Flyers accumulated second chance after second chance by swarming around the ball. They came away with 16 steals and forced Henry Clay to commit 25 turnovers.

Franklin County, No. 6 in the Cantrall Ratings, aims to become the first repeat winner in the 11^th Region since Lexington Catholic won four straight region titles from 2003 to 2006. Princess Stewart, a junior, led the Flyers with 16 points, 13 rebounds and three steals.

Senior Malaka Frank scored 12 points on 2-for-10 shooting. The Western Kentucky signee left a more sizable impact on defense, coming away with nine rebounds, two steals, two assists, two blocks and several deflections.

“This is her time of year,” Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker said. “ … She has to do everything for us. We asked her to drive the bus but she wasn’t old enough.”

Frank also went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, well above her 38.1 percent average on the season. Thacker encouraged her to practice foul shots immediately after school on Thursday. She recognizes that becoming a consistent threat to sink those charity balls could be a difference-maker.

“We need free throws and I know I’m not very good at ’em,” Frank said with a grin. “That’s what people know to do, is to foul me, so I’ve got to work on ’em.”

Henry Clay senior T’laya Lyvers had a game-high 22 points to go with 10 rebounds.

Lyvers played with an illness after sitting out Monday’s first-round game. The Blue Devils trailed 7-0 when she entered the game a minute into the game; she spurred a 7-0 run but Franklin County responded with an 8-0 spurt and never looked back. The Flyers took a 30-13 lead into the break after forcing 18 turnovers in the first half.

Blue Devils Coach Eric Sanford said Lyvers gave his team all she could tonight. Ultimately, the Flyers’ pressure-cooker defense proved to be too much.

“When you turn the ball over and can’t score, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Sanford said. “ … I’d like to thank my seniors because they gave me all they could tonight. We’ve had four good years with them. They’re winners.”

Henry Clay loses Anovia Byars, Nakeisha Green and Jordyn Jackson to graduation in addition to Lyvers. Jackson had 10 rebounds and a steal in her final game while Green had two points, four rebounds and three blocks. Byars was out with a leg injury suffered earlier in the season.

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 10:57 PM with the headline "11th Region girls: Bryan Station, Franklin County to meet in finals."