‘Anybody can win the thing.’ 11th Region girls’ tournament features competitive matchups.
While it might feel like defending champion Franklin County is the prohibitive favorite in the 11th Region Girls’ Basketball Tournament, results like a 7-11 Tates Creek team winning a district title mean any of the tournament’s eight contenders have a shot at the region championship.
“Anybody can win the thing,” Franklin County Coach Joey Thacker said. “If you guard this time of year, you have a chance in any game against any opponent. People think that’s a cliché, but it’s just true.”
Before the season started, Thacker said he thought the 11th Region has become more competitive top to bottom than it has ever been. The pandemic might have inadvertently leveled the playing ground further, Thacker added after the region pairings were announced Saturday.
“I think with the interruptions to kids lives (because of COVID-19), I think they are really taking advantage of the opportunities they get because of being so much more appreciative of what we get to do,” Thacker said.
A glance at the latest Dave Cantrall’s ratings for teams in the bracket bear that parity out.
Madison Southern, champions of the 44th District with a rating of 64.8, has, perhaps, the toughest draw going against 41st District runner-up Great Crossing, which is actually rated higher at 66.6. Scott County (61.0), champions of the 42nd District will face 43rd runner-up Lafayette (65.9), which is rated higher, as well.
On the other side of the bracket, 43rd District champion Tates Creek (60.7) might be the hottest team in the tournament and will host Frederick Douglass (52.4). And 41st District champ Franklin County (77.1) hosts Madison Central (52.9).
All of Monday’s first round games begin at 7 p.m. The semifinals on Wednesday and Saturday’s finals will be held at Eastern Kentucky’s McBrayer Arena.
Looking at those ratings, it appears the Flyers got the easiest draw, but Thacker’s not worried about anyone else. The focus in on his team.
“We’ve been talking to our kids about worrying about us and just taking care of business on our end and, so far, they’ve had a bounce in their step and have done a really good job of handling that,” Thacker said.
Thacker knows how precarious Franklin County’s hold on the region could be.
“If you can just upset the applecart a little bit in any game — take a certain offense away or show a different look here or there and change a matchup now and then — it takes a minute for adjustments to be made,” Thacker said. “And sometimes that could be a difference in the game.”
11th Region Girls’ Tournament
(First round hosted by district champions. Semifinals and finals at EKU’s McBrayer Arena)
Monday’s first round games
Great Crossing (11-7) at Madison Southern (17-6), 7 p.m.
Lafayette (14-6) at Scott County (10-8), 7 p.m.
Frederick Douglass (10-13) at Tates Creek (7-11), 7 p.m.
Madison Central (11-14) at Franklin County (14-5), 7 p.m.
Thursday’s semifinals
Great Crossing-Madison Southern winner vs. Lafayette-Scott County winner, 5:30 p.m.
Frederick Douglass-Tates Creek winner vs. Madison Central-Franklin County, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday’s finals
Championship game, 2 p.m.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 5:30 PM.
