[Jarons]

LLOYD — When a game comes down to free throws, a coach usually wants a senior leader with experience on the foul line.

For Lewis County, it looked to freshman point guard Emily Frye.

Frye went 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the second half and hit eight straight in the fourth quarter to lead Lewis County to the 63rd District championship on Thursday with a 52-44 win over Raceland at Greenup County High School.

Up only 44-41 with 56.4 seconds left, Frye was put on the line, and with all the pressure falling on her she was able to respond. But that wasn’t the case last year.

Lewis County coach Jay Fite said after Frye missed some key free throws during last year’s district championship game — the Lady Lions lost to Greenup County by one point — there was a hope she would help decide the game this year.

“We want her there,” Fite said. “She took a huge burden on her shoulders and felt like she was responsible. One of my assistants and I said ‘Wouldn’t it be good if Emily got to the free-throw line late and hit some free throws?’ And it was one of those things where she was calm and poised. Emily’s a ball player.”

The freshman finished the game with only the 12 points from the foul line but also dished out nine assists for the game. She had just two field goal attempts.

Fite said that is the good thing about his point guard — she’s looking to get others more involved than take over the game.

“She’s not a high volume shooter,” Fite said. “Her getting to the line was critical. And even when she’s not scoring, she’s creating and that’s where she’s becoming the ultimate point guard.”

Frye took over a game late that was to feature a battle of the premier centers in the 16th Region in Lewis County’s Savannah Anderson and Raceland’s Brooke Gee.

Both struggled with the other guarding as Anderson finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds and Gee being one of the Lady Rams’ leading scorers with 15 points and eight rebounds.

“It’s a great matchup,” Fite said. “Brooke Gee is one of the most dominant centers in our region and that’s a great matchup for our freshman. We told her this it’s not between you two. We told her to do her role, you have to understand she’s going to get her points we’re just going to keep you on the floor.”

Raceland coach Bob Trimble said it was a tale of two halves with Anderson winning the first half and Gee winning the second.

“We did a good job on Savannah in the second half because she only had one basket and one free throw,” Trimble said. “Two good players, two big girls with a lot of talent. It was fun to watch.”

But while Raceland was able to hold Anderson to only three second half points, Lewis County forward Tori Liles stepped up and picked up the slack.

The junior finished the game with a team-high 13 points and eight rebounds and was the main scoring force in the second half, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field.

Fite said with Liles being a five-sport athlete, they have come to expect her to pick up her play late in the season, and they couldn’t have asked for a better time for her to pick up her game.

“She dedicates a lot of time to other places,” Fite said. “As the year progresses she progresses. We always know we’re going to get Tori’s best from January on and that’s really been the situation for us.”

Raceland was led by senior Taylor Lacks, who had 15 points and played 31 minutes.

“She’s our leader. She makes plays for herself and other people,” Trimble said. “She’s done it for us for four years and we look for her to make big plays.”

Being the district runner-up, Raceland will start the 16th Region on the road come Monday with its opponent to be determined by Saturday’s draw.

But when asked about the first round of the region tournament, Trimble was fast to criticize how the opening game is played on the district winners’ home courts.

“That’s the most ridiculous rule we have in girls basketball,” Trimble said. “Your reward for going to the region tournament is go to somebody’s home court and play them in their gym. I don’t know why they continue to vote it that way, but I think it’s a travesty for a lot of schools.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to go. A lot of schools don’t get the opportunity to go, and when they get a chance to go to the regional tournament, they have to go to Ashland and play them. It’s ridiculous. That’s not reward at all to go to the regional tournament.”

Lewis County will play on its home court on Monday.

http://dailyindependent.com/localsports/...t-Raceland

I have know Bobby Trimble for many years, I don't think he complaining about this set up when Raceland girls won district a few years ago.