Bluegrassrivals

Written by Jason Frakes
The Courier-Journal

The first of what could be three meetings this season between the Manual and Marion County girls’ basketball teams — which are 1-2 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings — is set for Saturday.

The 6:30 p.m. game is part of the Autism Awareness Classic at Marion County. It’s the sixth of seven games in the event, which includes boys’ and girls’ teams.

“It’s two unbelievably good teams, and we’re excited to be playing in it because it’s a great cause,” Manual coach Stacy Pendleton said. “We’ll get to see how we match up against another really good team.”

Manual (15-1) suffered its first defeat Tuesday, 67-65 at No. 5 Mercy.

“It doesn’t hurt so much that we lost now,” Pendleton said. “But I told the girls that if we do this in March — if we shoot poorly and don’t play great defense — that our season will be over. I think they kind of got the point.”

Marion County (13-2) is undefeated against Kentucky competition, with both losses coming to California teams. The Lady Knights are led by senior Bre Elder (Dayton signee) and junior Makayla Epps and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, both of whom have committed to the University of Louisville.

The teams met in last season’s Sweet 16 semifinals, with Manual winning 56-54. They could face each other again this season in the Louisville Invitational Tournament and the Sweet 16.

Here’s the Autism Awareness Classic schedule:

Green County vs. Mercer County (girls), 11 a.m.; Bullitt Central vs. Spencer County (boys), 12:30 p.m.; Washington County vs. Wayne County (girls), 2; North Hardin vs. Mercy (girls), 3:30; Bardstown vs. Frankfort (boys), 5; Manual vs. Marion County (girls), 6:30; Central Hardin vs. Marion County (boys), 8

Manual is the better team of these two

This will be a great game. Both teams have been ranked pretty high nationally this year. MaxPreps.com currently has Marion County at 12th in the nation.

There's a lot of D-1 talent on these two teams. Probably a toss up who wins.

What a great game!

I would love to watch this game.

Showdown at the Roby Dome

Lady Knights and Lady Crimsons highlight a full day of action
By Jessica Veatch and Josh Veatch

On Saturday, Marion County High School will host the second annual Autism Awareness Classic. The day will get started with the first of seven games at 11 a.m., and will be capped off by a pair of Marion County Lady Knights and Knights games.
During the tournament, families with autistic children will be admitted free and will be recognized at halftime of the Lady Knights and the Lady Crimsons game. Also a drawing will be held for an autistic family to be sent on a weekend getaway to the indoor waterpark/resort in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. A silent auction will also be taking place with numerous items donated by the community and school groups and businesses.
Most likely the match-up that most people want to see will be the Marion County Lady Knights against the Lady Crimsons of DuPont Manual, which has been dubbed "The Battle of the Best." Seemingly, each week those two teams swap spots atop the state rankings, and are usually separated by just fractions of a point. Also, both teams are currently ranked in the top 20 of the national rankings, according to the latest Xcellent 25 poll on MaxPreps. The top 20 rankings of each team will do nothing but add to the excitement to the upcoming match-up.
When the Lady Knights visited Phoenix, Ariz., match-ups of top 20 nationally ranked teams occurred on a frequent basis. However, in central Kentucky match-ups like this one don't come along very often. This game will pit two true heavyweights in the world of girls' high school basketball together, and we most likely will see these two teams again in March in Bowling Green.
The excitement over this game is something that Head Coach Trent Milby has been looking forward to all season long.
"The atmosphere should be electric," he said. "I mean, if you are not ready to play or watch a game like this, then you are not a basketball fan."
Milby also commented on the benefit of drawing such a high caliber team to help in raising funds for autism awareness.
"It will be very fun and I am glad that Manual came to play us in such an event to benefit Autism," he said. "You will see 10 players on the floor at once that will play college basketball somewhere. That alone excites me."


Autism Awareness Classic
Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Roby Dome
11 a.m. Green County vs. Mercer County (Girls)
12:30 p.m. Frankfort vs. Bullitt Central (Boys)
2 p.m. Washington County vs. Wayne County (Girls)
3:30 p.m. North Hardin vs. Mercy (Girls)
5 p.m. Bardstown vs. Spencer County (Boys)
6:30 p.m. Marion County vs. DuPont Manual (Girls)
8 p.m. Marion County vs. Central Hardin (Boys)

TALE OF THE TAPE
Lady Knights vs. Lady Crimson
Litkenhous Ranking: 2 1
MaxPreps State Rank: 1 2
Xcellent 25 National Poll: 12 17
2011-12 Record: 13-2 14-0
Last Match-Up: 54 (2011 State Semi-finals) 56
Next Match-Up: Saturday Jan. 14 6:30 p.m. at the Roby Dome
Last MC Win: Dec. 22, 2009, 44-42
*All ranking and record information is updated through January 8, 2012.