The Banshees grab their first berth in the 5th Region tourney since 2007 in wild fashion, rallying from 12 down in the second half to lead by 4 in the final minute of regulation, only to see the Generals rally back to force OT.

 

In the high-scoring OT — 28 points between them! — the Banshees quickly took control with five straight points, but TNHS bounced back and got the lead. They traded the lead back and forth a few times, but Bethlehem finished the job at the charity stripe, where they were an outstanding 12-of-13 in the OT.

 

Lots of great individual stuff here:

 

Bethlehem

MacKenzie Hagan — 27

Leanne Dant — 20

Those two got 32 of their combined 47 points in the fourth quarter and OT.

 

TNHS

Lisa Jo Wygal — 24

Kaylee Dickson — 17

Wait, is Bethlehem's mascot actually the Banshees? How could I possibly have missed that?

 

That's awesome.

 

Goes near the top of the list of Kentucky high school mascot names with the Briar Jumpers, Wyverns and Amazons.

Wait, is Bethlehem's mascot actually the Banshees? How could I possibly have missed that?

 

That's awesome.

 

Goes near the top of the list of Kentucky high school mascot names with the Briar Jumpers, Wyverns and Amazons.

 

Can't forget the Bracken Co. Polar Bears!

 

Yeah, Banshees is a pretty cool name. It started as a girls' school 100 some-odd years ago, but started admitting boys in the '70s after the diocese realized a need in the wake of the closing of St. Joe Prep — "Undefeated since 1968!" — so they adopted SJP's eagle mascot for the boys' teams since a Banshee is a female entity.

 

Probably aren't too many around the state where the boys' and girls' mascot is completely different (no, adding "Lady" in front of it doesn't change it, unless we're talking about Lloyd's abbreviated name). I do remember Grant Co. used to be the Braves and the Squaws, but I think they got away from that for PC reasons.