Lady Bears set to face Grayson in District Tournament
Raylynn Nicewinter with the release on the jumper from deep in the JV contest against Warren Central. PHOTO | Greg Moore
By Greg Moore
Banner Sports Editor
After picking up two wins last week, the BCHS Lady Bears improved to 10-13 overall for the season and 6-6 in region play. After letting one get away in Beaver Dam, a 47-49 setback to Ohio County, on Monday night, Coach Belcher’s girls responded with a convincing win over the visiting Lady Hornets of Hancock County the following night, 60-43.
Then, in a preview of the 12th District Tournament’s round-one game to be played at BCHS next week, Butler County hosted Grayson County on Thursday before entertaining Warren Central on Senior Night with the easy dub–62-34–to end the week, on Friday.
Unfortunately, the Lady Cougars, who lost starting point guard Breigh Jones for the season, were still able to pull away in the second half after a back-and-forth first half. Even without their leading scorer, who is a clutch free-throw shooter to close games, Grayson County beat the Lady Bears for the second time in the season, 57-52.
Ann Marie Skaggs plays through the contact and scores the bucket in the early going with Grayson County. PHOTO | Greg Moore
The Lady Cougars executed their game plan brilliantly. They did not allow Butler’s standout junior, Ava Wilson, to have her way down low. Wilson, who was 9/10 from the charity stripe, was disrupted in the paint by Hannah Smith, Grayson’s 6’3” center, along with collapsing help. Wilson, who was held below her season averages, still led the Lady Bears with 14 points and ten rebounds.
Despite having one of their best performances of the season behind the arc, it still was not enough to erase the damage done in the third quarter when the Lady Cougars made their biggest run to go up eight points. The Lady Bears hit five of their 14 three-point attempts, but the difference maker was free-throw attempts. Grayson shot 12 more from the line.
Karrington Hunt, who finished with 12 points, hit both her attempts from deep and 8th grader Brielle Belcher hit her lone attempt. Senior Ann Marie Skaggs and sophomore Carly Cardwell both finished with 11 points on the night, putting four Lady Bears in double-digits.
Karrington Hunt gets a grasp on a rebound in the hard-fought district loss to Grayson County. PHOTO | Dennis Brown
Butler County will need to find ways to win against the competitive teams to make a post-season run. Their 74-59, signature-win over McLean County, who is currently 18-8 and 12-6 in the region stands out. They will need that kind of performance consistently to make a deep run after the regular season.
By record, Grayson and Edmonson County are within the top six teams in the region. Butler County is capable of beating both of them. It will start with the right preparation and game planning. Thursday’s loss should help the Lady Bears prepare for Grayson County. Being in the BearCave should help, also.
The Lady Bears will finish the regular season on Friday night at home. They will kick off the boy/girl doubleheader with Hart County. The Lady Raiders are 9-17 on the season; however, they have beaten Warren East, who recently made a huge comeback at home to upend Butler County.
