Girls’ 11th Region finals: Franklin County repeats as champ

Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker said his girls always want to know what the next challenge is. The newest one was crystal clear after Saturday night.

The No. 6 Flyers repeated as the 11^th Region champion, defeating Bryan Station 60-49 in the finals to advance to the Sweet Sixteen at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights. They became the first girls’ team to go back-to-back since Lexington Catholic won four straight tournaments from 2003 to 2006.

Now it’s Franklin County’s time to prove that last year’s one-and-done showing on the state tournament stage was not the best it’s capable of. Focusing on themselves rather than fixating on their opponent is a priority for the Flyers. They’ll play 15^th Region champion Shelby Valley — 23-22 winners over Magoffin County earlier Saturday — in the first round at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

“I know nothing. And I know nothing on purpose,” Thacker said when asked about the Wildcats. “We worried about a lot of things last year, and we went and laid an egg. This year I’m gonna worry about us.

“I think our kids gained something from that experience, and I think they’re ready to prove that that wasn’t necessarily our best effort.”

Franklin County fended off a Bryan Station squad whom Thacker said was playing like a top-10 team down the stretch. The Defenders jumped out to an early lead and kept the game within a possession for most of the first half. Princess Stewart and Brooklynn Miles scored 16 points apiece for the Flyers to keep the upset attempt at bay.

Miles, a seventh grader, was a spark plug in only 17 minutes off the bench. She was 7-for-8 from the floor and provided a lift after Stewart picked up her third foul late in the first half.

“That little seventh-grader stole the show,” Thacker said. “ … She has such a competitive drive for 24 hours a day. It’s phenomenal.”

Stewart had 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals to go along with her scoring. She was named MVP of the tournament, but lauded Miles for her reserve effort.

“I’m super proud of her,” Stewart said. “For me to commit silly fouls and her to step up and show that she can handle the pressure, I’m proud of her.”

A Carah Burdette layup off a Destiny Cozart dish put Station on top 14-12 early in the second quarter, but Franklin County responded with a 7-0 spurt, going up 19-14 after Stewart drilled the first of two long three-pointers in the period. The second gave the Flyers a 24-20 edge after Burdette had gotten the Defenders to within 21-20 on a pair of free throws.

Station wasn’t able to capitalize at the end of the first half after drawing a third foul on Stewart with 2:06 left. Franklin County finished the period on a 7-1 run fueled by Miles, who had five points in that span.

For Station, the loss was a sour conclusion to an up-and-down season marked by head-scratching outcomes and outside doubt about a talented group’s ability to win when it counted. The Defenders came up short of becoming the program’s first team to reach the Sweet Sixteen since 1994, but Coach Shawn Ransom said he feels the groundwork has been laid to realize that in the near future.

“We did some things that a lot of people didn’t expect us to do,” Ransom said. “ … We always believed. It took beating some good teams down the stretch in the postseason run to let the other parts of the state take notice of what we’ve done. By no means are we disappointed with our season.”

Cozart, a senior, led Station with 13 points while Burdette had 12 points.

This story was originally published March 5, 2016 at 10:46 PM with the headline "Girls’ 11th Region finals: Franklin County repeats as champ."