Girls’ basketball notes: Lincoln, Boyle combine for state scoring record

Lincoln County’s 112-110 overtime victory at Boyle County on Jan. 27 set a state record for combined scoring in a girls’ basketball game, toppling the previous record — Scott County 108, Fern Creek 107 in regulation (2007) — by seven points.

Emma King, a sophomore who has received a scholarship offer from the University of Kentucky, led four Patriots with 31 points in the game. Haley Southerland (27), Kaitlynn Wilks (22) and Maddy Boyle (20) also finished in double-digit scoring.

“It’d be nice if that happened every night,” Coach Cassandra McWhorter said with a laugh. “We talk about, every game, having three or four players in double figures, but to have four kids with 20-plus points, that’s definitely not something that happens every night.”

The Patriots overcame a 12-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter. Boyle stole a Boyle County inbound with 3.4 seconds left, got fouled while attempting a shot and hit a pair of free throws to send the game into overtime. Wilks hit the go-ahead bucket with four seconds left in the extra period.

Boyle County shot 57.6 percent from the field. Emmie Harris, who had a potential game-winning three-pointer bounce off the rim as time expired, led the Rebels with 31 points on 50 percent shooting. Lincoln County shot 47.5 percent as a team

It was Lincoln’s second victory over Boyle County this season. King, who’s also been in touch with the University of Florida, reached 1,000 points for her career in a 69-61 win against the Rebels on Jan. 13.

“She’s a very humble young lady,” McWhorter said. “ ... She just turned sweet 16 last week. To have those kind of offers already and attention from big-time schools, it would be easy for someone to get big-headed or to make it all about them. And she’s definitely the opposite.”

▪  Bryan Station senior Carah Burdette was honored for joining the Defenders’ 1,000-point club prior to Bryan Station’s 70-68 loss to Lafayette on Tuesday. Burdette, who had to sit out her freshman season after transferring from Lexington Christian, is averaging 15 points as a senior.

▪  The conclusion of that Lafayette-Bryan Station game, a rematch of last season’s 11th Region semifinal, was as entertaining as one could hope. Station senior J’lyn Martin got a basket to roll in to tie the game at 68 before Lafayette sophomore Lindi DeBilzan stormed down the court and drove through the lane for a go-ahead layup with two seconds left. Lafayette prevailed despite the absence of its lone senior, Kiara Pankins, who was out after suffering a concussion against Woodford County on Saturday.

Generals Coach Allison Denton said it was a good test for her girls to prepare for life without Pankins — the only 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound player in school history — next season.

“I challenged them before the game started, I said, ‘OK, well, you’re looking at what a team will look like without her for next year,’” Denton said. “‘Do the best that you can do, play with each other and prove something to yourself.’”

▪  Mercer County junior Faith Lake scored her 1,000th point during the Titans’ 85-67 win over Campbell County on Saturday. She is the third current member of the Titans to reach the 1,000-point mark, joining junior Seygan Robins and senior Lyric Houston. Robins is the program’s all-time leader with 1,929 points while Houston is second with 1,533 points entering Friday’s home game against Casey County. Three other Mercer County juniors — Emma Davis (834 points), Lexy Lake (802) and Emma Souder (751) — will likely finish their high school careers in the 1,000-point club, too. That’s a lot of firepower.

▪  Sacred Heart, the fifth-ranked team in the latest Cantrall Ratings, knocked off No. 1 Butler, 58-49, on Wednesday. Grace Berger, a junior who’s committed to Indiana University, had 14 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to avenge a loss to the Bearettes in the Louisville Invitational Tournament semifinals two weeks ago. Butler had a 25-game win streak, which began after a loss to Male to begin the season, snapped.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Girls’ basketball notes: Lincoln, Boyle combine for state scoring record."