11th Region girls: Bryan Station, Lafayette advance to semis

Tournament bracket

Bryan Station’s girls’ basketball team hadn’t played in the 11th Region Tournament since 2013. It made up for lost time Tuesday night at EKU’s Alumni Coliseum.

The Defenders cruised to a 76-58 win over 44th District champion Madison Central behind a 25-point night from junior Jlyn Martin, who was 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc. Several of those came from college range.

Martin made three straight threes for Station’s first nine points, going 5-for-5 from three in the first half. Station went 9-for-16 from long distance.

Ezzy Ighodaro nearly had a triple-double. The senior finished with 16 points, nine steals, eight assists, four rebounds and only one turnover. Carah Burdette came away with 13 points and four steals while Destiny Cozart had 11 points and three takeaways.

“I love getting steals so I love defense,” Ighodaro said. Station’s got something to prove, she said, and it intends to use its defense to fuel a potential run to the 11th Region finals.

The Defenders held true to their namesake on Tuesday; they had 19 steals to five for the Indians. Central’s turnovers — 20 in all — resulted in 32 points for Station.

And it was happy to share the wealth. Station had 18 assists on 28 makes.

“The thing I like about those girls is they look for each other.,” Station Coach Shawn Ransom said. “If one gets hot they always know, ‘OK, let her touch it the next time.’”

Martin’s hot shooting has been her primary asset, but her ability to put the ball on the floor and get by defenders helps, too. If she improves her quickness in the offseason, Ransom said, look out.

As for Ighodaro …

“What else can I say about her? She keeps her head out there,” Ransom said. “She plays both ends of the floor. … We definitely feed off of her. To me, she’s the best point guard in the region.”

Ransom was happy for his girls, who picked up the program’s first region win since 2012, but reminded them to stay hungry. He didn’t want to overlook Madison Central, but Station was “slobberin’ at the mouth to get another shot at Lafayette,” Ransom said.

The teams met three times in the regular season, the Generals winning twice. The final two games were the normal contests played as part of the Fayette County championships; the first was a finals bout in the Mingua Beef Jerky Holiday Classic at Bourbon County. Station took that meeting 59-45.

“We beat ’em in Bourbon County and that was for all the marbles,” Ransom said. “This next one, this one’s gonna be for some of the marbles. And we’d like all the marbles.”

Ighodaro lost to Lafayette in the 11th Region finals as a sophomore when she played at Paul Laurence Dunbar. The Generals’ game followed the end of Bryan Station’s on Tuesday night, and there was at least one of their fans in the stands wearing green and yellow.

“There’s nothing I love more than beating Lafayette. … I’ll be cheering for them.”

Lafayette waxes Western Hills

Western Hills took the first lead but Lafayette had the last laugh as it rolled to a 51-26 victory in the first round of the 11th Region tournament.

Kiara Pankins led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. Caroline Bennett had 11 points, seven boards and two steals for the Generals, who won their fourth straight and 13th of their previous 14.

LaKenzie Ritchie gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead on a transition layup, but Lafayette scored the final 15 points of the first period and put the game out of reach early.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” Generals Coach Allison Denton said. “Especially the younger ones who played on this floor for the first time. They really kept their composure and did what Lafayette does.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 10:31 PM with the headline "11th Region girls: Bryan Station, Lafayette advance to semis."