HS hoops recap: Kentucky Class 2A, Toyota Classic champions crowned

Scott County’s girls didn’t get much time to reflect on their first loss of the season.

After suffering a 79-69 defeat at the hands of Lincoln County on Friday night, the Cardinals turned around and played Clark County — the defending 10th Region champs — Saturday afternoon. Last year’s 11th Region champs fended off GRC, 75-65, to finish 2-1 overall in its annual round-robin event.

Maaliya Owens had 19 points and four rebounds and played the entire game. She also went the distance in the Cardinals’ loss to Lincoln County and its 74-63 win over Simon Kenton to kick off the Toyota Classic on Thursday.

Owens, who has signed with Tennessee Tech, is one of three girls in program history to reach 2,000 career points (she did so in an 88-53 rout of Paul Laurence Dunbar on Jan. 8). The other two — Rebecca Gray and Ukari Figgs — won Miss Basketball.

Scott County Coach Steve Helton likened Lincoln County star Emma King to Maci Morris — fitting, as King has signed with the University of Kentucky — and praised her off-the-court persona. He touted the scoring prowess of Savannah Boyd, a Marshall signee who led Boyd County to the state semifinals last year and has the Lions geared up for another run.

With all their teams in the thick of state-title conversations, the Miss Basketball race as of mid-January seems like it will come down to between those two along with Owens.

“With Maaliya, obviously I’m biased, but I just think she makes everybody better,” Helton said. “And in my opinion, that’s part of the criteria. Is your team good? Is your team filled with other players who can score too? ... Obviously, it’d be a really great honor for her, but there’s some really talented players kind of speckled throughout the state and all these young ladies, I wish them all the best, cause we’re just trying to get them ready for college ultimately.”

Toyota’s finest

Lincoln County swept Clark County, Scott County and Simon Kenton to win the girls’ round-robin event.

Maddy Boyle had 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting to lead the Patriots in their 65-52 win over Simon Kenton to seal the sweep. It was the Patriots’ 12th win in a row; they haven’t lost since dropping back-to-back games in December — an 80-79 decision Christian Academy of Louisville and a 59-48 game against Highlands, both at neutral sites.

“Three days in a row, three good teams” Lincoln County Coach Cassandra McWhorter said. “It was a good test for us, I don’t want to say early in the season, cause we’ve got the rest of January and February to play, but (it was) three good teams and (we had) three good days. I’m proud of how the girls showed up and we performed.”

Scott County’s boys had their hands full with Woodford County but prevailed with a 64-62 in the championship round of the boys’ bracketed event.

The Cardinals led by 15 points early in the second quarter but the Yellow Jackets chipped away and got it to single digits, 37-28, before halftime. Woodford County pulled within four points after three periods and on three occasions took the lead in the fourth quarter, and tied things at 62-all on a pair of free throws by Brandon Cromwell with 1:25 to play.

Scott County killed about a minute of clock before taking a timeout, after which Glenn Covington connected on an and-one layup with six seconds left. He missed the free throw but a three-point try by Cromwell on the other side drew front iron; Cromwell finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, both game highs.

Small-school titles

The inaugural Class 2A state basketball championships had to deal with some minor rescheduling in the earlier rounds due to weather, but the title games went off without a hitch on Sunday.

Christian Academy of Louisville defeated Scott, 49-40, for the girls’ championship while John Hardin romped in an 83-60 victory over Knox Central for the boys’ title.

CAL won its eighth straight game. Its seventh win in that stretch was arguably its most impressive — the Centurions rolled in a 53-34 decision over Webster County, which entered the 2A state tournament ranked ninth overall; CAL was knocking on the door of the top 25. Shelby Calhoun, a junior whose offers include UK, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State and N.C. State, finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead CAL in the finals.

John Hardin won its 21st straight game, matching the school record for consecutive wins, and remained the only high school basketball team in the state without a blemish on its record. Alex Matthews had 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Dane Imel scored 21 points to lead Knox Central.

Lexington Christian Academy and Berea will represent the 11th Region at the All “A” Classic state tournament this week at Eastern Kentucky University. LCA’s boys — the defending All “A” state champs — defeated Model, 68-42, in the 11th Region finals to secure their fourth straight trip to the statewide event.

Berea’s girls won the 11th Region title for the first time since 2000 by fending off region host Frankfort, 60-56, on Saturday. Mati Stepp (14), Adrienne Beggs (12) and Chesney Lovins (10) all finished in double-figure scoring to help the Pirates win their third straight game and improve to 18-4 overall. Berea hasn’t finished with a winning record since the 2012-13 season, when it ended 19-11.

Ballers

▪ David Johnson, Trinity: The U of L signee had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Shamrocks in their 44-41 win over Waggener in a battle of top-10 squads in the semifinals of the Louisville Invitational Tournament, which Trinity went on to win after a 57-40 victory over Seneca in the finals. Johnson had 25 points and 13 rebounds in Trinity’s 61-51 win over Male in the LIT quarterfinals.

▪ Zoie Barth, Highlands: Barth eclipsed 20 points in all three of the Bluebirds’ games this week, leading them to three straight wins after missing their game at Butler on Jan. 12, a 47-39 loss. She scored 28 points and was 4-for-8 from the three-point line in a 77-49 win at Walton-Verona on Monday, had 24 points and was 5-for-8 from behind the arc in a 79-47 win over Cooper on Thursday and the next night poured in 21 in a 57-39 win at Campbell County.

▪ Kristen Clemons, Sacred Heart: She was 10 of 13 from the field and led the Valkyries with 21 points and five rebounds in a 71-66 win over Ryle, Sacred Heart’s sixth win overall. Ashlee Harris added 20 points in the game, which was only the second one Ryle has dropped to a Kentucky foe this season.

▪ Keaston Brown, Henry Clay: The Blue Devils held off Tates Creek, 61-54, in their only contest this week. Brown contributed all-around in the win: He had 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks — all team highs.

▪ Elizabeth Curtis, Murray: She averaged 21.6 points this week in the Tigers’ three 1st Region All “A” Classic games, capped by a 17-point performance in a 47-29 win at Mayfield on Saturday, to help Murray secure its eighth straight bid to the statewide tournament.