Bluegrassrivals

Final

Kyvin Goodin-Rogers had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Marion County. Michelle Judy had 17 points and 7 rebounds and Courtney Sandlin had 10 points and 9 rebounds for Walton-Verona.

Excellent run for Walton-Verona. They won the All A Championship and lost a close game to the best team in the lower bracket. Too bad they didn't draw into the weaker lower half of that bracket.

Everyone associated with W-V should be extremely proud.

Extremely happy for WV. Predictions had WV getting blown out. Excellent showing today and a great season, still a State Champion!

Marion County 56, Walton-Verona 49: Kyvin Goodin-Rogers scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Marion County's first-round win over Walton-Verona.

Fifth Region champion Marion County (32-4) never trailed in the second half thanks to double-figure scoring by Goodin-Rogers, Makayla Epps with 14 points, Bre Elder with 12 and Logan Powell with 10 points.

The Lady Knights used an 11-1 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to take their largest lead of the game.

Eighth Region champion Walton-Verona (29-7) cut the lead to three with 1:26 to play but never came closer. Judy Michele scored 17 points and Sandlin Courtney chipped in 10 to pace the Bearcats.

The Lady Knights play Hopkinsville in Friday's quarterfinal

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/08/21013...rylink=cpy

MARION COUNTY 56, WALTON-VERONA 49: It wasn’t easy, but No. 2 Marion County advanced to the quarterfinals with a win over the All “A” champ Lady Bearcats. Kyvin Goodin-Rogers led Marion County with 15 points, 12 rebounds. Makayla Epps had 14 points and Bre Elder added 12. Walton-Verona was led by its post players, Michele Judy with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and Courtney Sandlin’s 10 points, 9 rebounds.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Considered a heavy underdog by many, the Walton-Verona High School girls’ basketball team through nearly every defense known to man at Marion County on Thursday.

But in the end the Lady Knights’ talent was too much.

Kyvin Goodin-Rogers posted 15 points and 12 rebounds and Makayla Epps added 14 points as Marion County upended Walton-Verona 56-49 in a first-round game of the Houchens Industries/KHSAA Sweet 16 in front of 4,312 fans at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Walton-Verona coach Mark Clinkenbeard said he used at least five defenses – triangle-and-two, 1-2-2, 2-3, full-court and man-to-man – in an attempt to slow down the Lady Knights. And entering the fourth quarter, Marion County held just a 37-34 lead.

“We went into this game wanting opportunities to win at the end, and we had them,” Clinkenbeard said. “They were a good team, and we didn’t execute perfectly down the stretch when we needed to.”

Marion County (32-4), No. 2 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings, opened the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run to take control and advanced to face Hopkinsville (32-4) in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. EST quarterfinal.

Along with Goodin-Rogers and Epps – both juniors who have committed to the University of Louisville – Dayton signee Bre Elder had a big game for Marion County with 12 points, five assists and three steals. Logan Powell hit 5 of 5 shots and pitched in 10 points and eight rebounds.

“You get to this point and it’s just win and move on, but the things we talked about in the scouting report and the things we worked on this morning we didn’t do,” Lady Knights coach Trent Milby said. “That’s what I’m disappointed about.”

Michele Judy (17 points, seven rebounds) and Courtney Sandlin (10 points, nine rebounds) led No. 14 Walton-Verona (29-7), which won the small-school All “A” Classic earlier this season.

Epps opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and Powell scored four points during the run that gave Marion County a 46-35 lead with 4:43 left in the game.

The Bearcats made a final run, pulling within 48-45 on two Lizzie Hoffa free throws with 1:26 left. But the Lady Knights sliced through the Bearcats’ pressure on the next possession and got a layup from Powell for a 50-45 lead. Walton-Verona never got closer.

Epps said the Bearcats’ multiple defenses frustrated the Lady Knights.

“We haven’t seen a triangle-and-two all year, and Coach had us practicing on it before we came up here,” she said. “They threw it at us, and we struggled with it for a little bit. … We settled for jump shots too much when we should have pounded it down inside.”

After shooting just 25 percent (7 of 28) in the first half, Marion County hit 13 of 22 shots (59.1 percent) in the second half.

In the Sweet 16 for the third straight year, the Lady Knights kept alive their hopes of reaching the state final for the first time. They lost to Manual 56-54 in last year’s semifinals.

“I’m trying to make it to Saturday night instead of Saturday morning like last year,” she said. “If we get to Saturday night, I’m sure we’ll do all we can to pull it out. All we want is a state title.”

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...49?Avis=B2

If the Lady Knights want to have a shot to win it all, they better sharpen up.

3/8/2012
Marion Co. 56
Walton Verona 49
Walton Verona 10 10 14 15 49
Marion Co. 16 7 14 19 56
At WKU
Walton Verona (29-7) -- Sandlin 10, Judy 17, Clinkenbeard 2, Taulbee 8, Slavey 5, Hoffa 7.
Marion Co. (32-4) -- Powell 10, Goodin-Rogers 15, Tonge 3, Elder 12, Epps 14, Fenwick 2.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/11/23/15374...rylink=cpy

BOWLING GREEN – The Walton-Verona girls’ basketball team was close to pulling off what to many would have been a first-round surprise in the Sweet 16 State Tournament, but it wouldn’t have been a surprise to the Bearcats.

Walton-Verona, rated No. 6 in the 16-team tournament field according to the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratngs, hung tough with No. 2-rated Marion County and had two chances to take the lead late in the third quarter, but fell short, 56-49, on Thursday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University.

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Marion County (32-4), which has three Division I level college players (senior guard Bre Elder has signed with the University of Dayton, while junior guard Makayla Epps and junior forward Kyvin Goodin Rogers have both committed to Louisville), advances to play Hopkinsville in today’s quarterfinal round. Hopkinsville advanced with a 56-52 win over Marshall County earlier on Thursday.

Marion County advanced to the state semifinals last season where it lost to DuPont Manual, 56-54, and suffered its only in-state loss this season to Manual.

It’s the second straight season Walton-Verona (29-7) was knocked out in the first round after hanging with Bowling Green for a half last season before being outscored 33-11 in the second half and falling, 58-32.

“Listen, we thought we could beat them,” said first-year Walton-Verona coach Mark Clinkenbeard. “It was a matter of execution. We had opportunities.”

Walton-Verona cut a 31-22 deficit it faced with 5:22 left in the third quarter to 31-30 and had a chance to take the lead with three minutes left, but junior center Michele Judy misfired on a free-throw line jumper.

The Bearcats then trailed 33-32 and had possession, but senior guard Jenalee Ginn missed an open three from the right wing with 1:49 to play in the quarter.

They also had a chance to tie when senior guard Katie Slavey was fouled attempting a three-pointer, but she made just two of the three free throws.

Marion County led 37-34 after three quarters and went on a 9-1 run to start the fourth quarter to seemingly put the game away, but Walton-Verona again came back. The Bearcats got within 48-45 on senior guard Lizzie Hoffa’s two free throws with 1:26 remaining in the game and after Marion County pulled ahead 50-45, Slavey missed a three and then a runner on back-to-back possessions sandwiched around a missed Marion County free throw. They would get no closer.

“We battled, but we just came up a little short,” said Clinkenbeard. “We know we’re a good team and we knew they were a very good team, but we thought we had a chance.”Clinkenbeard used a variety of defenses throughout the game from a 1-2-2 zone, to a 2-3 zone, to a triangle-and-two, to a 1-3-1 three-quarter court trap to even a minimal amount of man-to-man.

The zones were particularly effective in the first half as Marion County went just 7 of 28 from the field, including going 2 for 8 on three-point attempts.

“We weren’t particularly on our game as far as pushing the ball, especially in the first half,” said Marion County coach Trent Milby. “We rushed a lot of outside shots. We wanted to dribble and settle for threes the first half. The start of second we got the ball inside and we got up 11 we stopped attacking and we kind of got rattled. Walton-Verona played a great game”

Despite its shooting woes, Marion County still led 23-20 at halftime thanks in part to Walton-Verona having its own shooting problems. The Bearcats made just 6 of 17 shots from the field, many from close range, in the first half and were only 3 of 6 from the foul line, including a 1 of 6 start. The Bearcats shot 75.5 percent from the line on the season.

“They’re long and athletic,” said Clinkenbeard. “I’m sure they had something to do with that. We got in a hurry a few times.”

Marion County went on an 8-2 run to start the second half to pull ahead 31-22, but Judy, who played only six minutes in the first half due after picking up two fouls and scored just two points sparked the comeback with 10 points in the third quarter.

“Everyone expected us to get blow out by them, but at halftime we still had a chance,” said Judy, who finished with a team-high 17 points. “It motivated me I guess, but It stinks, because we were that close.”

Marion County shot 59.1 percent from the field in the second (13 of 22) and the trio of Goodin-Rogers, Epps and Elder combined for 25 points, and junior forward Logan Powell had eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Goodin-Rogers led Marion County with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Epps had 14 and Elder finished with 12 points, five assists and three steals.

Junior forward Courtney Sandlin had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists for Walton-Verona.


Walton-Verona 10 10 14 15 -- 49
Marion County 16 7 14 19 -- 56

Walton-Verona (49): Taulbee 3-5 0-0 6, Sandlin 3-8 4-4 10, Judy 8-13 1-2 17, Ginn 0-2 0-0 0, Clinkenbeard 1-1 0-2 2, Slavey 1-5 2-3 5, Hoffa 0-3 7-8 7, Mullikin 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 16-38 14-21 49.

Marion County (56): Powell 5-5 0-0 10, Goodin-Rogers 4-8 6-8 15, Elder 4-12 4-4 12, Epps 5-14 2-2 14, Tonge 1-7 1-2 3, Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Calhoun 0-1 0-0 0, Fenwick 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-50 13-16 56.

Three-point shooting: WV 3-10 (Taulbee 2-4, Slavey 1-3, Ginn 0-2, Hoffa 0-1), MC 3-12 (Epps 2-6, Goodin-Rogers 1-2, Elder 0-2, Tonge 0-1, Howard 0-1). Rebounds: WV 26 (Sandlin 9), MC 31 (Goodin-Rogers 12). Assists: WV 7 (Sandlin, Ginn 3), MC 12 (Elder 5). Steals: WV 3 (Judy, Ginn, Hoffa 1). MC 4 (Elder 3). Blocked shots: WV 3 (Sandlin 2), MC 4 (Goodin-Rogers, Tonge 2 ). Turnovers: WV 10, MC 6. Records: Walton-Verona 29-7, Marion County 32-4.

http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...303080120/