HIGHLAND HEIGHTS – The George Rogers Clark girls’ basketball team will get a rematch with Mercer County.
The Lady Cardinals survived a poor shooting afternoon with the help of a late 3-pointer from Jasmine Flowers to force overtime against Elizabethtown in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals at BB&T Arena on Friday, where they came away with a 42-35 victory.
GRC fell to Mercer County, who held on for a 67-66 win over Owensboro Catholic in the first game Friday, in last year’s state quarterfinals, 58-47.
The Lady Cardinals shot just 3-of-18 from the field in the first half and turned the ball over eight times, but managed to only trail Elizabethtown, 18-13, at halftime. They tied the game at 20 on a 3-pointer from Hayley Harrison with 2:12 left in the third quarter, but the Panthers took a 23-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
GRC used a 6-0 run in the fourth, capped off by a shot from Harrison, to take a 28-26 lead with 2:58 left.
Elizabethtown answered with a 3-pointer from Tanisia Murphy and it was followed by two free throws from Whitney Hay, giving the Panthers a 31-28 lead with 53 seconds left.
Flowers then knocked down the 3-pointer to tie the score with 36 seconds to play. Elizabethtown had a chance for the win on the final possession, but Kennedy Igo came across the court to block a last-second shot from Karson Knight.
Shamaya Behanan hit two free throws with 2:50 left in the added period, but Knight knocked down two of her own to tie it with 1:16 left.
Behanan got a layup to fall nine seconds later to give the Lady Cardinals a lead they wouldn’t surrender, as they closed out the game by scoring nine of the final 11 points for the 42-35 victory.
Knight led Elizabethtown with 15 points, while Hay had seven.
Behanan finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while Igo led GRC in scoring with 11 points. Harrison had nine points and Maleaha Bell added seven for the Lady Cardinals, who will face off with Mercer County on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the state semifinals.
MERCER COUNTY 67, OWENSBORO CATHOLIC 66
A chance for back-to-back titles stays alive for the Mercer County girls’ basketball team.
Faith Lake hit two free throws with 3.7 seconds remaining to give the Lady Titans a four-point lead to seal a 67-66 victory over Owensboro Catholic in the St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Girls Sweet Sixteen quarterfinals at BB&T Arena on Friday.
A missed free throw from University of Louisville signee Seygan Robins gave the Lady Aces the ball back with 14.1 seconds left, trailing, 64-62. Out of a timeout, Ellie Mitchell was fouled by Robins, but missed the first free throw. She hit the second to cut the deficit to one.
Robins was sent to the line again following the Mitchell make, knocking down 1-of-2 shots to make it 65-63.
Owensboro Catholic turned the ball over and Lake was fouled, making both shots to make it a four-point game. The makes proved important, as Mackenzie Keelin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close out the 67-66 Mercer County win.
Emma Davis led Mercer County with 21 points, while Robins had 18 and Emmy Souder had 10. They advance to Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinals, where they’ll face George Rogers Clark/Elizabethtown.
Hannah McKay led Owensboro Catholic with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Sarrah Clemens had 18 points.
MERCY 93, RYLE 78
Mercy continues to put points on the board.
The Jaguars topped Knott County Central in the opening round on Thursday, 85-56, and followed it with a 93-78 St. Elizabeth Healthcare/KHSAA Sweet Sixteen quarterfinal win over Ryle on Friday.
Ryle held a 27-25 lead at the end of the first quarter, after George Rogers Clark and Elizabethtown put up a combined 77 points in 36 minutes in the game before.
Mercy led by one at the half, 43-42, before holding the Lady Raiders to just 14 points in the third quarter and without a field goal for the final 4:06 of the frame to take a 63-56 lead. Mercy showed no mercy in the fourth, notching 30 points to close out the 93-78 victory and punch their ticket to the semifinals, where they’ll face the Boyd County-DuPont Manual winner on Saturday at 8 p.m.
Taziah Jenks finished with 27 points for the Jaguars, while Hope Sivori had 22 and Regan Berger and Daniell Feldkamp each finished with 16 points.
Brie Crittendon led Ryle with 21 points, while Lauren Schwartz had 19, Jaiden Douthit had 16 and Maddie Scherr had 12.
The combined 171 points are the most combined points scored in a girls’ Sweet Sixteen game.
BOYD COUNTY VS DUPONT MANUAL (LATE)
This game was not available at press time.
