53rd District Tournament Preview:

Jenkins High School will be host of this year’s 53^rd district tournament. The Knott Central Lady Patriots are the favorites and should win this district by 10+ but Jenkins Lady Cavaliers and Whitney Creech could make some noise and upset the Lady Pats. Knott Central has defeated Jenkins twice this season, once by 18 and one by 11 and not to mention that the Lady Cavs are playing some good ball right now, winning 4 of their last 5 games. If Whitney Creech does what she wants too, then Jenkins can most certainly upset the Lady Pats for the district crown.

 

BRACKET:

Feb. 22 Cordia vs. Letcher Central

Feb. 24 Cordia/Letcher Central vs. Knott Central

Feb. 24 June Buchanan @ Jenkins

Feb. 26 Championship

 

54^th District Tournament Preview:

Leslie County will be the host of the district tournament this season. This is a wild and hard to determine district, along with the 56^th. Perry Central and Leslie County are both 1-0 against district opponents, Hazard is 2-1. Hazard fell to PCC 75-61 earlier in the season and these two will meet in the first round of the district tournament while Leslie County will face Buckhorn, a team they defeated by 27 earlier in the season. This one should be fun to watch.

 

BRACKET:

Feb. 22 Buckhorn @ Leslie County

Feb. 22 Perry Central vs. Hazard

Feb. 26 Championship

 

 

55^th District Tournament Preview:

Breathitt County High School’s Bobcat coliseum will be the host of the district tournament. This district is the only lopsided district in the 14^th region this season. Breathitt County is the favorite and should win it with ease. Lady Cats have won all of their district games this season by 15+ points. Jackson City and Wolfe County, both 3-3 in district play, will be fighting to see who goes to region. Both teams split the regular season but it really doesn’t matter who wins this game as they will have a tough road ahead in knocking off Breathitt County.

 

BRACKET:

Feb. 22 Riverside Christian @ Breathitt County

Feb. 23 Jackson City vs. Wolfe County

Feb. 25 Championship

 

 

56^th District Tournament Preview:

Powell County High School is the host. This district is widely wide open with any team can win it. Powell County Lady Pirates are the favorites since it’s their home court and they are 5-1 against district opponents this season BUT they are 1-4 in their last 5 games, have fell to Lee County and have only defeated Owsley County by 2 and 4 points this season.

Lee County, the Lady Katz have split the season with every other team in the district, their victory over Powell County was on the Lady Pirates home floor in Stanton.

Estill County owns wins over Owsley County but have split with Lee County and have lost both to Powell County but lost by 1 to the Lady Pirates on Powell’s home floor.

Owsley County’s only 2 wins have came against Lee County but like the other teams have done, they have played Powell County close both games.

 

BRACKET:

Feb. 22 Owsley County @ Powell County

Feb. 22 Estill County vs. Lee County

Feb. 25 Championship

 

 

Region Rankings:

1.Knott County Central (20-7):

Lady Patriots continue to show why they are the favorite to win their district and win the region. Every team that’s been put in the way of the Lady Pats, they have defeated, except for 2, Perry Central and Leslie County.

 

 

2.Breathitt County (20-8):

Breathitt County held the #1 spot for a few weeks before finally facing Knott Central and falling to the Lady Pats. Knott Central and Breathitt were tied 10-10 at the end of 1 but it was the Lady Pats in the second quarter as they outscored Breathitt 24-9, taking a 34-19 halftime lead but Breathitt would draw closer in the 3^rd quarter, making it 44-36 KCC at the end of 3 but that’s about as close as Breathitt would get as KCC would hang on to a 61-52 victory.

 

3.Leslie County (17-7):

The Lady Eagles own victories over Knott Central and Breathitt County this season but despite having winning 3 straight to end their season, they have struggled lately, losing to Jackson City 51-50 and only defeating June Buchanan 64-55.

 

4.Perry County Central (12-8):

Much like Leslie County, Perry Central also owns victories over Knott Central and Breathitt county this season but the Lady Dores have played a short schedule, like a really small schedule but they are the hottest team in the region as we head into district tournaments next week. Perry Central has won 7 of their last 8 games.

 

5.Jenkins (15-13):

One of the surprise teams of the year, Jenkins Lady Cavaliers have ended the regular season 15-13 and have won 4 of their last 5 games but that’s not the story with this team, Whitney Creech, a senior guard has became the KHSAA State Leading Scorer. Creech surpassed the record February 2^nd when Jenkins defeated Paintsville 90-87 in OT. Creech had 71 of Jenkins 90 points.

 

6.Hazard (15-13):

Hazard had a good middle part of the season but have been struggling bad here lately, going 1-5 in their last 6 games. That’s not a good thing to do when you open up a first round district game against Perry Central.

 

7.Jackson City (12-10):

Jackson City has been on fire as of late, winning 8 straight before taking an L. Some of those wins include; Leslie County, Wolfe County and Lee County.

 

 

8.Powell County (13-10):

Lady Pirates are struggling bad right now, going 1-4 in their last 5 games. Another note, Powell County is 5-4 at home this season.

 

9.Lee County (11-13):

Lee County will open up with an Estill County team that they just defeated by 16 earlier in the season. Lady Katz are 5-2 in their last 7 games.

 

10.Estill County (13-16):

One of the surprise teams in the 14^th region this season. Everyone thought that the Lady Engineers would take a step back from last year since losing star guard Kennedy Flynn to graduation but the Lady Engineers have steamed out to a 13-16 record to end the season on and a date with Lee County in the first round of the district tournament.

 

11.Wolfe County (14-10):

Lady Wolves have struggled all season but have turned it on as of late winning 6 straight with wins over both, Estill County and Hazard.

 

12.Letcher County Central (9-19):

Letcher Central Lady Cougars have seen better years than this one.

 

13.Owsley County (10-13):

Owsley County is just 1-4 in their last 5 games this season but have played Powell County close both times they’ve met this season.

 

14.June Buchanan (11-9):

JBS has turned it on as of late, winning 6 straight before losing their last game.

 

15.Buckhorn (11-17):

Buckhorn has struggled this season and are struggling now, going 1-3 in their last 4 games.

 

16.Riverside Christian (3-23):

Lady Rams are 2-1 in their last 3 games and have won more games this season than they did all of last year.

 

17.Cordia (0-19):

Lady Lions are still looking for that 1^st win but it appears it won’t happen this season.

 

 

Player Rankings:

 

 

1. Whitney Creech (Jenkins): The State’s all time leading scorer is on a mission to get her team to the regional tournament for the first time since 2007/8 season.

 

2. Kristen Waugh (Knott Central): The Junior guard is one of several players that led this Lady Pat team. Kristen shoots 40% from long range and averages right at 14 points a game.

 

3. Destiny Peck (Powell County): The senior center is the reason why Powell County has had some success this season, Peck has scored 342 of Powell County’s points and have grabbed 168 boards.

 

4. Hannah Kash (Lee County): The sophomore guard has had an outstanding year for Lee County. Helping led the Lady Katz to a 11-13 record and has them right in the hunt for a district championship. Averaging 23 points a game.

 

5. Macie Gibson (Owsley County): The second best big girl in the district is looking to help Owsley win back to back district titles.

 

6. Kacey Cox (Breathitt County): Another weapon that Coach Bates can turn too when he needs too. Kacey averages just 10 points a game but she’s Breathitt County’s second leading scorer with 265 scored points this season.

 

7. Jada Higgins (Knott Central): Knott Central has many weapons to go to and Jada is one of them. Averaging 11 points a game, she’s the third leading scorer for Knott Central.

 

8. Olivia Bates (Breathitt County): Not known for her scoring as she doesn’t score much but Olivia is a rebounding machine for Breathitt County, grabbing 10 rebounds a game.

 

9. Madisyn Combs (Leslie County): In 23 games played, Madisyn has scored a total of 301 points to help lead her team to a 17-8 a record and a chance to win their district and make a strong showing in the regional tournament.

 

10. Brittany Barnett (Jackson City): Brittany is probably one of the best, if not the best shooters in the entire region, averaging 35% from long range (58/164).

Nice write-up!