[Stardust]

WESTWOOD — Ashland’s girls demonstrated Thursday night why they are rated as a Top 20 team in Kentucky.

The deep and balanced Kittens walloped rival Boyd County 70-41 in the 64th District Tournament championship at George Cooke Memorial Gym.

Making shots from all angles, Ashland hit a sizzling 55 percent while limiting the Lady Lions to 12 baskets in 50 attempts.

“Ashland is good. They are real good,” Boyd County coach Pete Fraley said. “They took away a lot of stuff we tried to do. When they shoot the ball that well, they are really going to be tough to beat.”

The Kittens extended their streak of district titles to five, all against the Lady Lions.

“It feels good,” said Ashland guard Kaylyn Gambill. “Boyd County is always a tough game. We kept our cool and took care of business. We were amped at school today. When the game started, we came out ready to play.”

The Kittens used an early 9-0 run to create some distance against the defending region champs and maintained a double-digit lead over the last three quarters.

Both teams will move on to next week’s 16th Region Tournament. Ashland will host a first-round game Monday, while Boyd County goes on the road to play one of the other district winners. The regional draw will be conducted Saturday morning at Morehead State University.

Ashland coach Bill Bradley said nothing has changed since day one for the Kittens, who posted their 26th win to match last season’s total.

“We want to play hard, and play together,” Bradley said. “The effort was unbelievable by everyone.”

Freshman point guard Alexis Robinson had a stellar night with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and one of Ashland’s six blocked shots.

“Alexis is really coming on for us,” Bradley said. “She’s not just running the show. She’s scoring more and doing whatever we need. She has so many skills.”

Robinson has grown more comfortable over the course of her first year in the starting lineup.

“Last year, I was kind of timid and didn’t score much,” she said. “This season, I kind of fit in more. We are close as a team, and it shows on the court. We played very well tonight defensively and offensively.”

The 29-point final margin was easily the largest of Ashland’s three wins over Boyd County this season.

“(Mykal) Farris got them going with nine points in the first quarter,” Fraley said. “We were down 18, got it back to 12 at the half, then Robinson scores 10 in the third.”

Robinson splashed two 3-pointers during a 25-run in the third quarter to put the game away. Also during that stretch, Sydney Cullop, Haley Sue Foutch and Gambill each converted a three-point play.

Fraley said the Lady Lions’ defensive game plan enphasized containing post player Julia Heaberlin, who finished with six points. The Kittens’ other four starters reached double figures, however, and Foutch had another productive game off the bench with nine points in less than 10 minutes of playing time.

Farris, Gambill and Cullop each finished with 11 points.