Mr. and Miss Basketball hopefuls explode for career-highs on opening night

If the season ended after the first night, your 2019 Mr. and Miss Basketball winners would be clear.

Dontaie Allen — a 6-foot-6 standout from Pendleton County who’s signed with the University of Kentucky — scored a career-high 52 points in the Wildcats’ 76-46 victory at Williamstown on Monday, the first night of play in the KHSAA basketball season.

Savannah Wheeler — a Miss Basketball frontrunner who’s signed with Marshall University — scored a career-high 44 points in Boyd County’s 82-71 victory at Johnson Central, last year’s 15th Region champion. Wheeler made five three-pointers and hit 17 of 20 free-throw attempts for the defending 16th Region champions. Her 44 points were the most by a Boyd County player since at least 1975, according to the Ashland Daily Independent.