[Stardust]

RACELAND — Boyd County girls basketball coach Pete Fraley felt inclined to call for a maintenance check when Russell climbed to within six points of his Lady Lions in the third quarter.

That’s all it took for his team to get back to hitting on all cylinders.

“I called a timeout and kind of reaffirmed a few things,” Fraley said.

Boyd County reaffirmed that it’s one of the better defensive teams in the 16th Region in holding a hot Russell team to 26 percent from the field and halting the Lady Devils’ winning streak at six. The Lady Lions won, 58-35, in a Russell home game played at Raceland due to the recent flooding of Marvin Meredith Gymnasium.

The defending region champions held Russell scoreless for much of the fourth quarter — the Lady Devils finally found the net at 1:47 — as they turned a 34-28 lead into a 23-point blowout.

“We hit a 3-pointer out of that timeout, and it got us going,” Fraley said. “We were getting a little loose and letting them get some open looks at the basket.”

Boyd County (17-8) benefited from some nice interior looks converted by the post duo of Morgan Kenser and Taylor Wheeler. The Lady Lions scored the first 10 points of the game, and Kenser notched 15 of her 17 in the first half. Wheeler finished with 13 to go with a team-high seven rebounds.

“(Kenser and Wheeler) complement each other really well in the post,” Fraley said. “It opens up our shooters a little bit too.”

Fraley pointed to the play of junior point guard Emily Stewart as the offensive catalyst. She racked up five assists.

“She didn’t have any points but she keeps us going, keeps us level,” Fraley said.

Logan Fraley tacked on 10 points to help lead Boyd County to its fourth straight victory and ninth in a row over Russell. The Lady Devils haven’t won in the series since Dec. 8, 2007.

Despite trailing 10-0 less than three minutes into the contest, Russell rebounded to make it interesting by the third quarter. Still, the Lady Devils never tied it or took a lead.

“We couldn’t make shots, bottom line,” said Lady Devils coach Mandy Layne. “This is just one of those games where you’ve got to let it go. We have some big challenges coming up.”

Gabrielle Cassity scored a team-high 12 points for Russell, which fell to 16-12.

Courtney Moore’s minutes continue to increase as she recovers from a back injury. She played 18 minutes for Boyd County.

[Stardust]

Boyd County (58) — Kenser 17, Wheeler 13, Fraley 10, Brown 5, Stewart, Moore 3, Coburn 6, Newsome 2, Maynard 2, Reeves, May, Goins, Rose. 3-pointers: 2 (Fraley, Moore). FT: 14-18. PF: 13. Turnovers: 11.

Russell (35) — J. Gross 3, A. Gross 8, Parsley 4, Cassity 12, Berry 3, Sparks 1, Huddleston 4, McDade, Harrison, Darnell, Carter. 3-pointers: 3 (J. Gross, Cassity, Berry). FT: 10-18. PF: 12. Turnovers: 18.

BOYD CO. 17 13 15 13 — 58

RUSSELL 7 12 13 3 — 35

[Rufus]

Boyd Co is a well coached group. It's good to see a coach who teaches during a game like Pete does.

[recruiter]

i wouldnt be surprised if Boyd pulls the upset against Ashland again in the Regionals.

[16th Region]

Congrats to Boyd Co. Pete Fraley might get more out of kids than any other coach in the region. Agree good coach.