Shannon Hutchinson, Sports Writer
Monticello — The Wayne County Lady Cardinals met rival Southwestern last Tuesday
night at Warrior Gym in the opening round of the 48th District Tournament.
The Lady Cards entered with an 8-17 record and ended the regular season with
a disappointing 56-40 home loss to Lexington Catholic. Southwestern owned a
17-9 mark and was coming off a 48-46 loss at Mercer County. Wayne County
swept the regular season series between the schools winning 52-49 at
Southwestern and using overtime to win at home 72-66. The winner would
advance to face Monticello in the championship game as the Lady Trojans
topped McCreary Central 46-42 the previous night.
The Lady Warriors capped-off an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter led
by two Jessica Pierce put-backs to break a 37-37 tie and held on for a 49-46
opening round win. The 6-2 senior center totaled 12 points along with a game
high 16 rebounds as Southwestern snapped a three-game losing streak against
Wayne County.
"I thought we played hard and played with great effort but that's the
type of commitment we need from day one next season. We don't lose any
seniors so hopefully this can be a learning and growing experience for our
team. We can't make any excuses. We had the opportunities to make plays and
win this game. I thought our defensive effort on Danay Fothergill was much
better in this game but Jessica Pierce was a real match-up problem for us on
the inside," said Lady Cards head coach Tim Pyles.
Pierce finished 5 of 7 from the field and 2 of 5 from the free throw
line, while Danay Fothergill added a team best 17 points. Fothergill, a 5-7
junior guard, exploded for 41 points in the loss at Wayne County but
finished just 5 of 14 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the charity-stripe this
time around.
"Our goal was to keep Fothergill off the line, make her work for her
points and try to limit her to 20 points. We did all of these things pretty
well but Pierce stepped up and was a force on the inside," said Pyles.
Destiny Molden and Emily Walker totaled 7 points each while Adison
Corder tallied 6 points as five different Southwestern players etched the
scoring margin.
Wayne County, which lost their fourth straight game to end their season
at 8-18, was led by the career 18 points of sophomore reserve Samantha
Sexton. Sexton shot 7 of 10 from the field which included a 4 of 7 tally
from 3-point range plus grabbed 4 rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
"Give Samantha Sexton a lot of credit. She stepped up and made some big,
clutch shots all night long. Her play was huge in the first half and she
followed that up with some more big baskets in the second half. Sam was a
scoring threat on a night we certainly needed her to step up so hopefully
this is something she will build on for next year," said Pyles.
Freshman Jessica Hardin was plagued with foul problems all night and
fouled-out early in the fourth quarter with 10 points plus grabbed a team
best 6 rebounds. The talented guard shot 3 of 4 from the field and 4 of 6
from the free throw line, despite logging just under 24 minutes of play.
"That was a big blow to lose Jessica so early in the fourth. She is one
of our top scorers but we really missed her ability to rebound. Without her
effort on the backboards, it made things tough," said Pyles.
Kayla Bowlin tallied 9 points, all in the second half and contributed a
game high 5 assists while Kortney Criswell scored 6 points with 5 rebounds.
TaShea Pyles netted 3 points as five Lady Cards marked the scoring column.
The Lady Warriors opened the game with back-to-back treys by Fothergill
and Corder, plus added another three to push to a 9-2 lead barely 90 seconds
into the game. Wayne County battled back with a 12-4 surge of their own, led
by the 6 points of Jessica Hardin to take a 14-13 edge, at the end of one
period.
Samantha Sexton also helped key the run with 8 points in the quarter but
Southwestern answered right back. The hosts claimed the lead on their first
possession of the second stanza and used a 14-8 tilt, to push to 27-22
halftime advantage. Sexton led Wayne County with 11 points in the half,
while Danay Fothergill and Jessica Pierce paced Southwestern with 9 and 8
points each.
The Lady Warriors tallied on 5 of 10 field goals in the third frame and
pushed out to their largest lead of the contest at 37-26 with 4:25 left in
the period. The Lady Cards responded with an 11-0 spurt of their own to knot
the score at 37-37, three minutes later. Southwestern scored the final
5-points of the period to lead 42-37 after 24 minutes.
"We made a good run late in the third quarter and another one late in
the fourth but just couldn't ever get over the hump," said Pyles.
Wayne County used back-to-back Kayla Bowlin field goals to close the
score to 47-46 with 2:04 left in regulation. The squad forced a turnover and
had a chance to take the win but Jessica Pierce blocked a Samantha Sexton
late attempt and Destiny Molden added two free throws to give Southwestern a
49-46 opening round win.
Southwestern, which claimed a 31-27 rebound edge, shot 16 of 41 from the
field for 39 percent which included an 8 of 23 effort from 3-point range for
35 percent. The winners made 9 of 15 free throws for 60 percent and finished
with 11 turnovers.
Wayne County connected on 17 of 44 field goal attempts for 39 percent
and tallied on 5 of 18 3-pointers for 28 percent. The squad converted on 7
of 12 free throws for 58 percent and totaled 8 assists with 3 steals against
7 turnovers.
"This is the first time in over 15 years we've not advanced to the 12th
Region Tournament, so as a team we must commit to the off season. We must
get better in all areas and play as hard all season as we did this game,"
said Pyles.
