Final from The Fieldhouse. 

Very hard fought game and exciting atmosphere.  Game was tied at 50 with 2:30 left and Pendleton County with a chance to take their first 2nd half lead.  But Saniah Thomas and Cara Stewart both foul our and the Lady Indians outscore the Lady Cats 10-3 the rest of the way.

Great, not good, first year for Coach Kelsch and PCHS.

From 10th Region.com:

MAYSVILLE, KY — Montgomery County pulled out an exciting win over Pendleton County in the opening night of the 10th Region Girls Basketball Tournament on Monday. It was the second quarter that won the game for the Lady Indians. Take away the second quarter, and its a 60-59 MoCo win. Saniah Thomas fouled out with three minutes left in the game for the Lady Cats. Allie Dillon hit a dagger three with 1:11 left in the game to give MoCo the 58-50 lead. It was a three-point game with 1:56 seconds left.

THE BASICS

Final Score: Montgomery County 60, Pendleton County 53
Location: The Fieldhouse, Mason County
Records: Montgomery County (21-12), Pendleton County (21-8)

HISTORY

The two did not play during the regular season. Montgomery County is looking to make it back to the region finals for the third straight year. Pendleton County was looking for their first regional win since 2011.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

— Montgomery County either won or was tied in quarterly scoring. 1st: 8-8, 2nd: 13-7, 3rd: 22-21, 4th: 17-17.
— The biggest quarter for the Lady Indians, and what gave them the win, was outscoring Pendleton County 13-7 in the second frame.
— Montgomery County had 16 points off of Pendleton County turnovers.
— Montgomery County shot 29.2% (7/24) from the field in the first half and 50.0% (14/28) in the second half.
— (M) Hayden Barrier scored 17 points.
— (M) Allie Dillon scored 17 points.
— (M) Reaghan Oney had 12 points, shooting at 71.4% (5/7).
— (P) Saniah Thomas scored 19 points with 3 threes and 5 rebounds.
— (P) Cara Stewart had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

NEXT UP

Montgomery County moved on to play Bishop Brossart on Friday at 6:00pm in the semifinals of the 10th Region Tournament.

Pendleton County’s historic season comes to an end. They won 21 games, the most in school history, and the first district title in 10 years. They lose seven seniors, Skylar Ashcraft, Emmie Dunn, Morgan Hart, Savannah Shimkowiak, Cara Stewart, and Saniah Thomas.

Montgomery County 8th grader, Elaine Purvis, hit a couple of really big shots--I believe when Barrier was on the bench with 4 fouls.  Trying not to be a creepazoid here, but she doesn't look like an 8th grader.  Has a strong, athletic build and certainly didn't play like one when the Lady Indians needed someone to pick up the slack.   Additionally, I thought Allie Dillon hit some big shots & delivered from the charity stripe.  

I thought Pendleton County's Skylar Ashcraft played an excellent game.  9 points, 8 assists, & did a nice job finding her way into the lane.  Saniah Thomas was dominant in the 3rd quarter after an extremely quiet first half.  If memory serves, Thomas had 13 of PC's 21 3rd quarter points.  Junior Emily Jodrey's stats actually don't show up on her own line, but rather on that of Hayden Barrier's.  Jodrey spent a lot of time shadowing the outstanding Barrier, who was 6-15 from the floor & 1-7 from 3.  Barrier basically got her scoring average, but it didn't come easy. 

The better team won this game, in my opinion.  But it was a really hard-fought contest.  Pendleton loses a lot of talent, including 4 starters.  They return a gifted point guard in Lily Ashcraft, as well as their top 3 bench players.  Size will be PC's biggest issue next year.  Montgomery is going to be a force to be reckoned with again next year, and likely beyond, especially with two more years of Barrier.  The Lady Indians have good balance and get after it on the defensive end.