16th Region Draw
To be played at Morehead State
Girls first-round games are as follows: Boyd County-Russell, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.; East Carter-Rowan County, Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Lewis County-Ashland, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.; Fleming County-West Carter, Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Girls semifinal games will be on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The championship game is set for Friday at 7 p.m.
Is East Carter the favorite
Warthog Wrote:Is East Carter the favorite
Yes I would say East Carter is with a record of 29-2
Boyd Co. could also take this one.
Ashland could also take this one.
Skip Pass Wrote:Ashland could also take this one.
Yes, East Carter,Boyd Co.,and Ashland.
Zack Klemme
The Independent
MOREHEAD — East Carter has to be considered the odds-on favorite to win its second 16th Region Tournament girls title, but the Lady Raiders don’t expect to have any trouble with complacency.
Recent region tournament history has not been kind to East Carter, with three straight one-and-done appearances.
That has the Lady Raiders “ticked off,” said coach Hager Easterling, entering the region tournament, which begins Tuesday at Morehead State’s Ellis T. Johnson Arena.
“We got a lot of kids that are hungry, and I don’t think they’re gonna be satisfied with anything less than a regional title, and that’s the way I want them to feel,” Easterling said after the tournament draw Saturday morning in Morehead.
The Lady Raiders (29-2), ranked eighth in the Commonwealth in the final Associated Press poll of the regular season, are seeking their first region championship since 2004. They begin their march Tuesday at about 8 p.m. against Rowan County (13-14) in a top-bracket quarterfinal. The other matchup in that half of the bracket is Boyd County (23-8) and Russell (20-11), set to tip Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The bottom bracket features what figures to be the premier quarterfinal matchup, Lewis County (20-10) versus Ashland (21-8) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and Fleming County (19-10) against West Carter (12-15) to follow.
Semifinals are scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 and 8 p.m., with the championship game Friday at 7 p.m.
The Kittens, two-time defending region tournament champions, toppled Lewis County, 63-61, Dec. 5 in Vanceburg in both teams’ second game of the season. Haley-Sue Foutch led Ashland with 17 points, and Colorado commit Alexis Robinson netted 16.
Lady Lions center Savannah Anderson went off for 28 points and 14 rebounds that night. Jaycey Fite added 17 points.
“Anderson’s such a hard matchup,” Ashland coach Bill Bradley said. “We’re long, but … she’s so strong. That’s what we’ve gotta match up with. And (Lewis County point guard Emily) Frye’s playing unbelievable this year, she’s a definite All-Area player, and Fite’s one of the best shooters in the region. So they’ve got what you need at point guard, shooters, big guy. It’s a hard matchup for us.”
Lady Lions coach Jay Fite called the game a contrast in styles.
“They’ve got long guards and don’t have a lot of size inside. We’ve got small guards and we’ve got bigger players inside,” he said. “Some matchups are difficult for us, but I think some are difficult for them as well. It’s just one of those situations where we have to prepare to do what we can and they have to do the same thing.”
The tournament’s first game pits Boyd County and Russell in a rematch of the Lady Devils’ 58-53 win Dec. 5 in Russell. The Lady Devils’ Maggie Jachimczuk and the Lady Lions’ Logan Fraley tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points.
Boyd County has wanted another shot at Russell since then, coach Pete Fraley said. The Lady Lions are coming off a 58-52 defeat of Ashland in the 64th District final for their first district crown since 2005, but the coach said his team is just ready to lace ‘em up, regardless of history and other outside factors.
“Our kids are very even-keeled,” Pete Fraley said. “We’re so young, outside of (senior) Taylor (Wheeler) and Logan, there’s other kids, they have no clue. They just know we’re getting on the bus and coming to Morehead Tuesday to play.”
As for Ashland, which led 45-40 in the fourth quarter in the district final before losing, Bradley said coming off that loss may give his team’s play a bit of an edge.
“(There were) uncharacteristic mistakes we made in the fourth quarter, but we had a great practice yesterday and we kind of flushed that one down,” he said.
The Lady Raiders and Lady Vikings’ scheduled regular season meeting was snowed out. But Rowan County has still made an impression on Easterling.
“They present a lot of problems,” he said. “They don’t have any kids that are 6-2, 6-3, but they have a lot of kids that are 5-10, 5-11, and they got some nice length. They’re gonna present a lot of problems that way.
“(Lady Vikings senior Faith) Conn’s obviously one of the best players in the region, very versatile, handles the ball, can put it on the floor and get to the rim on you, post you, can knock down open shots from 3 if we leave her open. And they’re very well-coached, and they’re playing well.”
But Easterling said the Lady Raiders have “embraced” the favorite role, and he has as well.
“I want to be considered the favorite every year because that means you’re good,” he said with a chuckle. “Pressure is when everybody says, ‘Daggone, you’re gonna struggle this year.’ That’s pressure.”
Boyd County is the only region team to beat East Carter this season, winning 51-48 on Feb. 8 in Grayson. Those two powers could be on track for a semifinal rematch. The Lady Raiders beat the Lady Lions, 56-42, on Jan. 18 in Summit.
Fleming County has won 10 straight games entering the region tournament, the longest such active streak in the region and tied for ninth-longest in the state.
Lady Panthers coach Kristy Orem is delighted to not have drawn a region heavyweight, but cautioned against looking past the Lady Comets, who Fleming County beat 70-47 on Dec. 7 in the Eastern Kentucky Conference Tournament and 61-51 on Feb. 21 in Flemingsburg.
“I’m sure that (West Carter) probably feels like they got the best draw, honestly, out of the (district winners),” she said. “Matchup-wise, we’ve gotta make sure that we do a better job on them at the 3-point line because they hit a lot of 3s against us at our place, and when you come out and you play on that bigger court, we usually struggle there shooting-wise.”
Skip Pass Wrote:Ashland could also take this one.
Lewis Co. will win this by 12, Ashland is overrated and does not play as a team. If this game is called the right way then Ashland goes down. I was hoping to draw this team. Yea , call me crazy but you will see who plays as a team come Wednesday. Fite will have this team ready.
:popcorn:
dei227 Wrote:Lewis Co. will win this by 12, Ashland is overrated and does not play as a team. If this game is called the right way then Ashland goes down. I was hoping to draw this team. Yea , call me crazy but you will see who plays as a team come Wednesday. Fite will have this team ready.
:popcorn:
You may be correct that Ashland drops this one against Lewis. Who knows until that final buzzer sounds. It should be a good game with 2 teams having very different strengths and weaknesses. But to say that any district winner would prefer to play Ashland in the opening round of the Region...well, maybe not crazy, but, lets just say "overconfident"....
Region tournament schedule subject to change
The Independent
MOREHEAD — The 16th Region girls basketball tournament is set to begin tonight at 6:30 with Boyd County-Russell followed by East Carter-Rowan County at Morehead State University.
However, with the recent winter storm, road conditions are an issue.
Tournament staff and school officials will reach a decision by 11 a.m. Tuesday on whether or not games will tip off as scheduled.
East cater could win this region
dei227 Wrote:Lewis Co. will win this by 12, Ashland is overrated and does not play as a team. If this game is called the right way then Ashland goes down. I was hoping to draw this team. Yea , call me crazy but you will see who plays as a team come Wednesday. Fite will have this team ready.
:popcorn:
Probably should've hope for a different draw, team looked pretty balanced to me.
Updated Girls 16th Region Tournament bracket (through Wed.)
The Independent
MOREHEAD — Here is the updated bracket for the Girls 16th Region Tournament after Wednesday night's opening round games. The semifinals will tip off with East Carter and Russell tonight at 6:30 in Morehead.
http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/arch...f465b6.jpg
Adam Hoskins Wrote:East cater could win this region
I have to agree that East is the odds on favorite at this point, but strange things can happen during tournament time. Not many people expected Russell to upset Boyd in the first round. On any given night anything can happen...that's why its called March Madness!!!!
