Size, athleticism get Bowling Green to another Sweet 16 quarterfinal. Can it make history?
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2022 Girls’ Sweet 16 coverage
Click below to read all of the coverage from Kentucky.com and the Lexington Herald-Leader during the Girls’ Sweet 16 State Basketball Tournament in Rupp Arena.
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Bowling Green went nearly 10 years between wins at the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 before last season. Priority number one of this year’s trip to Rupp Arena? Don’t repeat that history.
The Purples made good on their goal by holding off upset-minded Letcher County Central, 58-45, in the first round Thursday morning. They’ll now get an opportunity Friday night to do something they’ve never done: advance to the state semifinals. Either Cooper or Pikeville, who played each other later Thursday, will stand in their way.
“I thought our kids stuck to the script defensively, what we wanted to do, and we’re just excited to be playing tomorrow,” said Bowling Green’s Calvin Head, who’s coached the Purples to four state tournaments in his five seasons as head coach.
Letcher shot slightly better than Bowling Green — 42.9 vs. 40.8 percent — but connected on only four of 13 three-point attempts. The Cougars, representing the 14th Region, made their fifth state-tournament appearance through the execution of a high-low post offense that had little chance of effectiveness against the much-larger Purples. Cougars head coach Keith Baker knew they’d need to hit — and take — more jumpers to have a chance to end the region’s losing streak at state; the 14th is winless since 2008. Letcher’s only win came in 2006.
“We basically had to change our style and how we play to match up to Bowling Green and their length and athleticism,” Baker said.
Meadow Tisdale had 18 points to lead the Purples (29-7). Foul trouble and several early misses limited her to just six points in the first half, but she was perfect from the floor (4-for-4) and free-throw line (3-for-3) in 13 second-half minutes. The junior has reported offers from Northern Kentucky and East Tennessee State.
“In the second half I thought she really did a good job of finishing around the rim,” Head said. “LynKaylah (James) kind of carried us inside in the first half, so then she begins to get the double teams and it frees Meadow one-on-one.”
The Purples jumped out to an 8-0 lead but Letcher closed the first quarter on an 8-2 run, fueled by three-pointers from Tori Holcomb and Kaylee Banks, to get within a basket. Bowling Green recovered with an 8-1 run and was able to build a 27-15 halftime lead on the back of James, who had eight of her 15 in the second quarter.
Saniyah Shelton scored just four points but dealt eight assists and made four steals for Bowling Green. Head wishes the junior would shoot more than she does — she finished 2-for-6 in 30 minutes — but says her impact as a stabilizer is invaluable.
“Always looking to find the open player,” Head said. “She instills so much confidence in her teammates. That’s what you want from your point guard, and she does that for us.”
Bowling Green capitalized on its size advantage, finishing 17-of-34 inside the arc and generating 32 points in the paint. The Purples got 17 points off 18 Letcher turnovers while coughing it up just seven times themselves. The 4th Region champs led the entire way but weren’t able to put distance between them and the Cougars until the fourth quarter.
The delayed pull-away, players said, was somewhat attributable to nerves. They look forward to playing a bit more stress-free on Friday.
“We just needed this game to come and get all of our jitters out so we could just play and advance,” said James.
Of course, that might be easier said than done with school history on the line.
“A lot of people want to talk about us playing up here last year and being a little familiar,” Head said. “You can’t get familiar with playing at Rupp Arena.”
Girls’ Sweet 16
What: Sixteen-team tournament to decide Kentucky’s high school basketball state champion.
When: Wednesday through Saturday
Where: Rupp Arena
Tickets: Tickets available for purchase at KHSAA.org.
Girls’ Sweet 16 scores, schedule
At Rupp Arena
Wednesday’s first-round games
Meade County 53, Boyd County 46
Bullitt East 67, Bethlehem 50
Southwestern 67, McCracken County 56
Franklin County 46, Henderson County 43
Thursday’s first-round games
Bowling Green 58, Letcher County Central 45
Pikeville (31-2) vs. Cooper (23-4)
Corbin (25-6) vs. Clark County (30.2)
Sacred Heart (32-3) vs. Anderson County (30-4)
Friday’s quarterfinals
11 a.m.: Southwestern (26-7) vs. Franklin County (28-7)
1:30 p.m.: Bullitt East (31-4) vs. Meade County (29-6)
6 p.m.: Pikeville-Cooper winner vs. Bowling Green (29-7)
8:30 p.m.: Corbin-Clark County winner vs. Sacred Heart-Anderson County winner
Saturday’s games
11 a.m.: Semifinal 1: Winners of Friday’s morning session.
1:30 p.m.: Semifinal 2: Winners of Friday’s evening session.
7 p.m.: Championship.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 1:56 PM.
