5th Region Girls Preview

[5thregionbasketball]

Here's 5th Region Preview. I hope to have the boys up in the next week or so. Feel free to disagree, agree and discuss. 

5^th Region Girls Preview

1.  Bethlehem- The rankings could possibly say Bethlehem and then everyone else. The defending region champions will be the heavy favorite coming into this season. They return Carlie Thurmond, Tessa Miles, and Alyssa Miles. They did lose standout player Emma Filiatreau, but transfer Leah Macy, the number 10 ranked junior in the country, should fill her shoes nicely. The Banshees will be a heavy favorite to win the All-A championship and anything short of a return to Rupp will be a disappointment.

2.  Taylor County- Taylor County returns every player from last year’s regional runner-up squad. Taylor was 3 points away from a trip to Rupp Arena. Last year Taylor County finished the season with a 27-7 record. The big factor for Taylor County will be the health of point guard Grace Bale, who averaged 16.9 ppg last season. A knee injury followed by surgery will most likely limit her early but by Christmas, you can expect that she will be much closer to full strength. Bale will be joined by returning players Kennedy Jackson, Alexis Knifley, and Kaylee Benningfield. 

3.  North Hardin- The defending district champions will look to repeat as district champs. They’ll look to improve their record from last year’s 19-13 season that ended in a semi-final defeat to eventual region champions Bethlehem. North will return Payton Isom, who averaged 15.8 ppg last season and Destiny Scott who averaged 5.6 rebounds per game. They will have to have some players step up and fill the void left behind by graduates Dez Bryant and Ella Scherer.

4.  Hart County- The Lady Raiders have a new coach at the top in Jessica Lindsey. She’ll look to take Hart County back to the regional tournament this season. The Lady Raiders finished last season with a 19-12 record, were district champions and ended their season with a semi-final loss in the regional tournament. Hart County will go as Dea Bradley goes. Bradley is one of the top players in the region. She averaged 26.1 ppg last season. While Hart County lost their second and third top scorers, the Lady Raiders have a strong upper-class group who should be able to fill that void easily.

5.  Elizabethtown- Things will look drastically different for the Lady Panthers this season. Coming off one of the worst seasons in recent memory with a record of 13-19 and a loss in the first round of the regional tournament to Hart County. Amber Courtney takes over on the sidelines, but she’ll have her work cut out for her in replacing Sarah Clark’s 14. 2 ppg and 8.4 rebounds per game. Gone also is Janisse Armstrong who contributed 10. 1 ppg and the Cann twins. Harper Gregory is the highest point scorer returning, averaging 6. 3 ppg. Coach Courtney does bring with her 2 daughters Miyah Courtney who will help with the scoring, averaging 12.7 points last season at Bardstown.

6.  Green County- Finished the season with a 16-13 record and was the district runner-up. That looks to be the most likely spot again for the Lady Dragons. Green County lost Caity Church, who averaged 9.5 ppg, but will return the coaches daughter Mia Blaydes and teammate Lily Beard, both of whom averaged double digit points. Scout Brockman will be someone to watch out for as well. As a 7^th grader last season, she played lots of minutes and added 6.5 ppg.

7.   Adair County- The Lady Indians have a familiar face sitting in a new chair at the top of the bench this season. Stacia Hill takes over for Jerald Bryant. Hill was an assistant on last year’s team. Adair County finished the season last year as the #2 team in the district and was the district runner-up. They lost in the first round of the regional tournament to Bethlehem. This team will go as Ellie Cheatham goes. Cheatham averaged 16.5 ppg last season. She’ll look to match that in her senior season this year.

8.  John Hardin- The Lady Bulldogs were heavy favorites in the 17^th district season. That season ended in disappointment for Nikki Coleman and the Lady Bulldogs. They would eventually end up as the #4 seed in the district tournament and lose to North Hardin in the semifinals. Coach Coleman will have to replace Xaviera Smalley’s 18.6 ppg and 11.5 rebounds per game. She’ll also have to replace Sharon Tidwell’s 13.9 ppg and 6.5 rebounds. The most likely candidate to pick up that slack will be SR PG Destini McCallister. McCallister averaged 16.1 ppg last season. McCallister should be regarded as one of the top players if not the top player in the district.

9.  Central Hardin- The Lady Bruins also have a new head coach this season. Assistant coach Glenn Peterson moves up a chair and will lead Central Hardin this season. He’ll have to replace Khania Jones who transferred to George Rogers Clark. The Lady Bruins will lack some size in the post with the loss of Kathryn Gray as well. They’ll count on Julianna Stith to run the point and produce most of the scoring. She averaged 12.7 ppg last season. Senior Allie Link will also be heavily relied on.

10. Thomas Nelson- The Lady Generals saw some improvement last year and hope to build on that this season. Raeann Nix and Haleigh Martin will lead Thomas Nelson this season. Nix averaged 13.2 ppg. Martin contributed 9.7 ppg. The Lady Generals finished with a 13-16 record.

11. Nelson County- Trey Dugan has officially taken over as the head coach for the Lady Cardinals. Dugan’s father was the interim head coach last season, but Trey did much of the coaching during some health issues that his father had to deal with. The Lady Cardinals roster will look quite a bit different with graduation losses of leading scorer Kaia Grabbert, point guard Macy Runner, and guard/forward Shayla Redmon. Alivia Morris will be the top returning scorer. Morris averaged 10.1 ppg last season.

12.  Larue County- The Lady Hawks will have to find a replacement for Natalie Gentry. Gentry was the igniter for Larue County last year and everything went through her. Gentry averaged over 18 ppg last season. The Lady Hawks will be a very young team this season. The top returning scorer will be Macaul Bryan, who averaged just over 6 ppg. The Lady Hawks finished last season as the #3 seed in the district and had a record of 8-20.

13. Bardstown- Ashley Buckman will lead the Lady Tigers this season. He’ll hope to improve on the 14-17 record from last season, but he’ll have to do so without Miyah Courtney, last year’s leading scorer. Addison Riley and Nariyah Crowe will be two players that the Lady Tigers will depend on heavily.

14. Marion County- Marion County will be young but will lean heavily on senior Keke Adams and junior Mya Scott. The Lady Knights finished the season last year with a 9-14 record and ended their season with a first-round district loss to Adair County. Adams, who only played in 6 games last year, averaged 10 ppg and Mya Scott averaged 10.6 ppg for Marion County as well.

15.  Campbellsville- Kyvin Goodin-Rogers girls will play hard for her. The Lady Eagles, who finished last season with a record of 10-21 and a first-round loss to Taylor County in the district tournament, will have to replace their leading scorer from last year Brianna Hayes. Mylee Bell looks to be the most likely to do so. The sophomore has incredible 3-point range and will shoot often.

16.  Washington County- The Commanderettes won a district tournament game for the first time in a long time when they defeated Thomas Nelson in the 4-5 play-in game. Washington County will have a new coach at the helm this season in Daniel Sheckles.  Washington County loses their top scorer in Tasheria Smalley but will return point guard Kylie Newton and guards Izzy Medley and Natashia Riley. They’ll be a young squad again this season and probably a year or so away from competing for that 2-3 spot in the district.

17.  Caverna- Last year, very few things went right for the Lady Colonels. They have a new coach this season in Andre Barbour, but he will have his work cut out for him. Caverna finished the season with a 3-23 record. They lost their top 2 scorers to graduation in Kaliana Richardson and Tavi Gonzalez. Kadence Brown, averaging 4.2 ppg last season will be the top returning scorer.

18.  Fort Knox- The Achilles heel for Ft. Knox for the past several years has been instability in its roster. The mobility of those who live in Ft. Knox make it difficult to build continuity from season to season. That looks to be the case this year as well. Neither of Ft. Knox’s top scorers from last season, Asia Charles, an 8^th grader last season, and LeShay Jones, a sophomore last season, are listed on their KHSAA roster.

19.  North Hardin Classical- The Falcons will play more KHSAA schools this year. They return their top 2 scorers from last season in Sharon Riis at 9.8 ppg and Paige Haddle with 6.1 ppg.

Players to Watch

1.  Leah Macy- Bethlehem
2. Dea Bradley- Hart County
3. Destini McCallister- John Hardin
4. Payton Isom- North Hardin
5. Grace Bale- Taylor County
6. Carlie Thurmond- Bethlehem
7. Tessa Miles- Bethlehem
8. Ellie Cheatham-Adair County
9. Mia Blaydes- Green County
10. Raeann Nix- Thomas Nelson
11. Miyah Courtney- Elizabethtown

 

District Predictions

17^th District

1.       North Hardin
2.       Elizabethtown
3.       John Hardin
4.       Central Hardin
5.       Ft. Knox
6.       North Hardin Classical

18^th District

1.       Hart County
2.       Green County
3.       Larue County
4.       Caverna

19th District

1.       Bethlehem
2.       Thomas Nelson
3.       Nelson County
4.       Bardstown
5.       Washington County

 20th District

1.       Taylor County
2.       Adair County
3.       Marion County
4.       Campbellsville

[theguru]

Thank you so much for doing this on your own @5thregionbasketball!

If anyone is interested in any other girls regions please reach out to me and/or post what you want to share in this forum. 

[The Double Deuce]

Great job, @5thregionbasketball!!

I think the opening game at the Queen of the Commonwealth between Bethlehem and Holy Cross (Cov) will be terrific -- and a possible All A State Championship Preview (not to mention, the same teams met in the Finals last year at EKU as well, with HC winning -- without, obviously, Leah Macy).

The Banshees are certainly a huge favorite in the 5th....and have a terrific chance to avenge that All A State Finals game last year at Corbin in January.

[The Professor]

Bethlehem is loaded this year. Maybe not in the same level as Sacred Heart and Clark County but they should win the 5th and maybe go deep into Sweet 16 play.