Covington Holy Cross 67 Owsley County 45 (All A Quarters)

[The Double Deuce]

Final from the All A Classic at Corbin Arena.

[The Double Deuce]

@The Professor Were you in attendance?  Hopefully you or @rjal can give us a first-hand account of this one.

[rjal]

Owsley county came out hot and ended the first quarter winning 15 to 10. Holy Cross was leaving the back door open and they took advantage.  They also hit three threes I believe. Owsley County did struggle at the line though. I don’t have exact numbers, but missed a lot of free throws. They could’ve had a bigger lead.  In the second quarter Holy Cross turned up the pressure and started getting steals and points on transition.  Holy Cross took the lead in the second quarter ending the half up 31-22.  They pulled away after that. They were up 20 at the end of three and then started subbing with five minutes left in the fourth with the JV finishing the last couple minutes of the game. Aniyah Carter and Julia Hunt had a bunch of points.  Holy Cross did not shoot well from the three today but points on transition won them the game. Of note D’Myah Williams is back after sitting out over nine months with an ACL tear. She gives the Indians much-needed depth and greater ability to sit Hunt for rest from time to time Next up Nicholas County.

[The Professor]

On 1/26/2024 at 11:09 AM, The Double Deuce said:

@The Professor Were you in attendance?  Hopefully you or @rjal can give us a first-hand account of this one.

Yes, I was there. I just now saw this or I would have posted earlier.

Rjal has given a good summation of the game. Owsley County came out strong, particularly senior guard Carly Smith, and led 15-10 after one quarter. But Holy Cross’ switch from zone defense to man and their little guard Carter’s defense on Smith changed the game quickly. She racked up 10 straight points mostly off steals and layups and gave her team a double digit lead that they didn’t relinquish. Owsley’s 6’2 freshman center Macey Brown did struggle from the line, going 0-6 for the game in a 22 point loss that could have been closer. I suppose the bigness of the arena and the moment got to her because she is a much better free throw shooter than that. 
One stat that is noticeable though is Owsley won the battle of the boards 39-37 (per Hudl). But they had too many turnovers (21) and missed quite a few point blank shots in the paint. 
Along with Boyd County, Holy Cross are two top notch competition that the Lady Owls have played this season. They also played a good Corbin team who was down one player at the time and won by 14 last month. 
 

The teams that defeat Holy Cross will need strong play vs their trapping defenses because that is the bread and butter of their game plan.