Mason County’s Amirah Reed works her way down the court during a 2024-25 high school basketball game.
For over half a century, girls basketball teams in the 39th district have taken to the court every year hoping to walk off the floor as district champions.
One team has done that more often than any other in the 39th: the Mason County Lady Royals. 50 years ago, after the KHSAA reinstated girls’ basketball in 1974-75, the Lady Royals took home the district championship beating out the Fleming County Lady Panthers, the first of a four-year streak atop the district. In the years since, the Lady Royals have held the championship 38 times out of the 50 total championships held.
Lately, though, the Bracken County Lady Bears have staked their claim as the queens of the 39th District, with three consecutive championships since 2023. That year, they defeated the Saint Patrick Lady Saints 40-36, before picking up wins over Mason County in 2024 (64-52) and 2025 (63-48).
The Lady Saints’ last 39th District championship was in 2009, Augusta has never won the district championship. The Lady Panthers’ last district championship appearance was 2015, where they fell 56-30 to Mason County.
2025-26 marks the second year the 39th District will seed for the district tournament, with each of the four teams set to face each other twice.
The Lady Royals will tip off against Augusta on Friday Dec. 5 and Friday, Jan. 30, Bracken County on Wednesday, Dec. 17 and Thursday, Jan. 22 and St. Pat on Tuesday Jan. 27 and Thursday Feb. 5.
Bracken County will face Augusta on Friday, Dec. 19 and Friday, Jan. 23, and the Lady Saints on Tuesday, Jan. 6 and Monday Feb. 2.
The Lady Panthers are set to take on St. Pat on Tuesday, Dec. 9 and Thursday, Jan. 8.
Currently, Mason County is the team to beat in the 39th District, having returned each of their starters from last season, a year that saw them go 21-10 and earn the district’s first ever No. 1 seed. The Lady Royals lost to Bracken County 63-48 in the district championship, and 77-37 to the George Rogers Clark Lady Cardinals in the first round of the 10th Region girls basketball tournament, but are hopeful for a much stronger postseason performance in 2025-26.
Bracken County and Augusta both have new head coaches heading into the season, the Lady Bears now led by Johnathan Nelson, and the Lady Panthers by Dana Bach. Both teams are excited to take to the court for the first time this season and start making their mark as contenders for a district championship.
The Lady Saints enter their third year under head coach Isaac Klee, and are looking to continue to grow as the season progresses. St. Pat’s lineup is young, and hopeful for a successful year in 2025-26.
The 2026 39th District tournament is set to be held at the Mason County Fieldhouse from Feb. 23-26, with the 10th Region tournament slated for either Harrison County or Nicholas County, and will be held from March 2-7.
