Lady Bears nearly defeat Nicholas

The Bracken County Lady Bears took the court at Nicholas County High School Thursday night to take on the Lady Jackets in the 10th Region All “A” Classic championship.

After defeating Augusta on Tuesday, Bracken County was eager to hit the court for a shot at the 10th Region All “A” Classic title, but still faced the challenge of defeating a strong Nicholas County team. The Lady Jackets headed into the contest with a 9-5 record and were confident they could defeat the Lady Bears.

Nicholas County jumped out ahead of Bracken early, out-scoring the Lady Bears 22-10 in the first quarter. Up 12, the Lady Jackets confidence took over, as they continued to pull ahead of Bracken County throughout the first half. In the second quarter, Nicholas County put up 19 more points, to lead 41-26 over the Lady Bears heading into halftime.

“If we could put a first half together like we played the second half, it would’ve been a totally different ball game, but this year for some reason we just really struggle to play four quarters. The first half is what got us.” said Lady Bears’ head coach, Troy Archibald.

Down 15 at the top of the third quarter, Bracken County appeared to be lagging behind in this contest. Unfortunately for the Lady Jackets, the Lady Bears had yet to come alive, and would show Nicholas County their strength throughout the entirety of the second half.

Bracken County allowed the Lady Jackets no field goals in the third quarter. Nicholas County’s only scoring this go around came from free throws, allowing the Lady Jackets just five more points on the scoreboard. Meanwhile, Bracken’s offense began to explode. The Lady Bears put up 19 points this quarter, to head into the fourth down just one point, the Lady Jackets holding on to a delicate lead, up 46-45.

“I forget what we were down, but we were down quite a bit and we battled back.” said coach Archibald, “That’s something, we’ve done all year long. I don’t know, we just get in the locker room and we just start talking about things. We tell them, this game ain’t over, you all have done this earlier in the season, we’ve done it last year, you all just gotta come out here and fight and that’s what they did, and I’m proud of them. There is no quit in the Bracken County Lady Bears.”

A combination of strong defense and aggressive offense led the two teams to a tie by the end of the fourth quarter, both teams sitting strong at 58 points apiece.

Having fought back from a 15 point deficit, and having taken control of the game to head into overtime, the Lady Bears proved to Nicholas County that they weren’t going to be an easy win.

Sadly for Bracken County, foul trouble and a few mis-placed shots allowed Nicholas County to pull ahead once again in overtime, with just not enough time left in the contest to bring it back into the Lady Bears’ favor.

“Nothing to be ashamed of. Nicholas County’s a good team. We came out here, the girls played their heart out, and that’s all you can ask for.” said coach Archibald.

Bracken County fell behind in the four minute overtime, with the Lady Jackets scoring 12 points over Bracken County’s eight, with just two field goals scored by the Lady Jackets.

“They were in a double bonus early on in the fourth quarter, and unfortunately that doesn’t reset. So, every time we tried to stop the clock, they were shooting free throws. That’s just the way it goes, that’s basketball for you. Our season ain’t over and we got a lot more work to do.” said coach Archibald.

Nicholas County took the game 71-67 over Bracken County, in a tense, close fought battle.

LADY JACKETS 71

LADY BEARS 67

NICHOLAS COUNTY- 22-19-5-13-12- 71

BRACKEN COUNTY- 10-16-19-14-8- 67

Scoring

Nicholas County- Simons 36, Davis 18, Banks 8, Carpenter 4, Humprhies 2, Ellwood 2, Boone 1

Bracken County- Archibald 32. Johnson 16, Ahers 1, Sharp 8, Kelsch 3, Bauer 6

Game Stats

Field Goals: Nicholas County 18, Bracken County 18

3-Pointers: Nicholas County 3, Bracken County 6

Free Throws: Nicholas County 26/33, Bracken County 15/26

Fouls: Nicholas County 23, Bracken County 25

Records: Nicholas County 10-5, Bracken County 7-9