Bluegrassrivals

Final

Manual wins the LIT

■ Top-ranked Manual outscored No. 2 Marion County by nine in the third quarter and went on to win 47-40 in the championship game. Kara Wright was 8-for-12 from the field and scored 20 points for the Lady Crimsons (21-2). Kayla Styles added 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Makayla Epps scored 20 points for the Lady Knights (19-4).

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/01/28/20475...rylink=cpy

Manual basketball wins rematch with Lady Knights in Girls' LIT championship
From Courier Journal:

In the battle of the top two girls’ basketball teams in Kentucky, you can chalk up Round 2 to Manual High School.

And don’t be surprised if there’s a decisive third round in six weeks in Bowling Green with the state championship on the line.

Kara Wright scored 20 points and reserve Tabitha Mitchell chipped in eight as the Lady Crimsons beat Marion County 47-40 in Saturday’s final of the Republic Bank/Coca-Cola Louisville Invitational Tournament at Bellarmine University’s Knights Hall.

Manual (21-2), No. 1 in the state in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, became the first school since Scott County (2005-06) to win back-to-back LIT titles.

“It’s just a wonderful feeling,” Manual coach Stacy Pendleton said. “I think it’s the biggest tournament in the state aside from the state championship. It’s a great, great day for us. . . . I think we had the best four teams in the state here today (for the semifinals and final).”

Junior Makayla Epps, who has committed to the University of Louisville, led No. 2 Marion County (19-4) with 20 points. Senior Bre Elder added 10 points.

Marion County suffered its first loss of the season to a Kentucky opponent. The Lady Knights had defeated Manual 63-61 in Lebanon two weeks ago.

“We were out of our element down there playing at Marion County in the Roby Dome,” Mitchell said of the Lady Knights’ peculiar 2,600-seat arena. “It was a huge, huge crowd. We wanted to come out tonight and focus and play our game because we really didn’t do that at Marion County.”

The teams were tied at 23 Saturday after a speedy first half that included just four personal fouls and took just 21 minutes to play.

Manual took control in the third quarter, opening with a 10-2 run that was capped by Morgan Allen’s steal and jumper that made it 33-25 at the 2:48 mark.

Marion County was 2 of 12 from the field and committed three turnovers in the third quarter and trailed 36-27 entering the fourth. Pendleton said his team “played with more grit” in the third.

“We weren’t trying to score on offense, just kind of laid back,” Lady Knights coach Trent Milby said. “We were kind of timid and just couldn’t score.”

Epps’ 3-pointer pulled Marion County within 40-35 with 3:57 left, but Mitchell answered with a basket to make it 42-35 and the Lady Knights never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

Wright finished 8 of 12 from the field and picked up the Joyce Seymour Offense Award given to the tournament’s top offensive player.

“I was just feeling it today, and my teammates gave me the ball,” Wright said. “It’s like any other game. If one of us is feeling it, you take the time to give them the ball. Every time we play Marion County we’re ready to play.”

It was the fifth meeting in three seasons between the teams, with Manual now holding a 3-2 advantage. The teams are favored to meet again March 10 in the final of the Houchens Industries/KHSAA Sweet 16.

“It’s a good possibility, but you never know,” Milby said. “Both teams have to get there, and then you have to get through that whole week.”

Tournament director Joyce Seymour announced the 2013 girls’ LIT will be played again at Knights Hall. The boys’ LIT will be moved to the gymnasium now under construction at Valley High School.

“This is a great venue with a college-level floor,” Seymour said. “This is where we started. This is our home.”


Marion County 10 13 4 13 - 40
Manual 9 14 13 11 - 47

Marion County (19-4) – Calhoun 2, Elder 10, Epps 20, Powell 6, Goodin-Rogers 2.
Manual (21-2) – Styles 2, K. Wright 20, Bodine 3, Wilson 5, Allen 2, L. Wright 7, Mitchell 8.
3-point goals: Elder 2, Epps 3;

K. Wright.Joyce Seymour OffenseAward: Kara Wright (Manual).Bunny Daugherty Defense Award: Patrice Tonge (Marion County).

All-tournament team: Kara Wright, April Wilson (Manual); Makayla Epps, Bre Elder (Marion County); Courtney Roush, Christine Roush (Mercy); Kendall Noble, Whitney Back (Perry County Central); Jade Tubb (Sacred Heart); China Dow (Christian Academy).

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...ext|Sports

Girls LIT roundup
Posted on January 29, 2012 by Jody Demling

The 40th girls’ Louisville Invitational Tournament concluded on Saturday night at Bellarmine when Manual downed Marion County 47-40 in the title game.

The game featured a ton of Division I talent and the state’s two top teams. Marion County won two weeks ago in Lebanon and Manual won this time.

The only way the two would meet again is in the Sweet 16 final.

The photo (right) is of Manual senior Kara Wright, who was named MVP of the tournament.

Here’s a look at the final two days of the LIT and some highlights:

• Kara Wright led Manual in the title game with 8 of 12 from the field for 20 points and also had six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. The Southeast Missouri State signee finished the tournament with 59 points and 22 rebounds. She was third among all players in the tournament in both points and rebounds.

• Purdue signee April Wilson only had five points in the final but finished the tournament with 58 points. She had 29 points and five steals in a win over Perry County Central in the semifinals. Kara Wright and LeAsia Wright had 16 apiece in the semifinals, while Tabitha Mitchell came up with four huge baskets in the title game.

• Louisville signee Makayla Epps led Marion County in the final game with 20 points but had only one rebound and no assists. She was second in the tournament in points with 63 and hit 10 of 22 three-point field goals in the three games.

• Epps also had 20 in the semifinal win over Mercy, while Dayton signee Bre Elder had 15 and Louisville commitment Kyvin Goodin-Rogers added 12 points and nine rebounds. Elder had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in the final, but Goodin-Rogers was only 1 of 10 and had two points and seven rebounds.

• Marion County junior Patrice Tonge was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player after slowing April Wilson and Mercy’s Whitney Hartlage. Wilson was 1 of 5 from the field, while Hartlage was 1 of 8. Tonge was hawking them both.

• Christine Roush led Mercy in the tournament with 43 points, while Courtney Roush had 35, including 12 in the semifinals. Both are headed to Northern Kentucky and really showed a lot of versatility in the LIT.

• Perry County Central was impressive in beating Sacred Heart 78-77 on a buzz-beater on Friday and then losing 70-61 to Manual in the semifinals. Kendall Noble had 28 points, six steals, five assists and five rebounds in the win over SHA and then had 11 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks against Manual. Kayla Rankins was in some foul trouble but had 18 on Friday and 17 against Manual. Rankins hit a putback in the final couple of seconds to beat Sacred Heart.

• Christian Academy junior China Dow led the tournament in scoring with 77 points in three games for the Lady Centurions.

• Sacred Heart’s Jade Tubb scored 30 in the loss to Perry Central on Friday, while Kristin Matula was 11-for-11 in two tournament games.

• Jeffersontown eighth-grader Krystaline McCune led the tournament in blocks with 13, while Manual’s Kayla Styles led in rebounds with 33.

Would have liked to see this game,.