Final.

 

Hard to tell what we really learned from this game. North was missing their top two guns, both returning starters from last year (long-range sharpshooter Olivia Raffli and 5'9" senior Erin Overcash). Both should be back this Thursday vs. Williamstown, but without them tonight, North was down to just 7 players, including a freshman at forward and a center who was playing volleyball last year.

 

North outscored Owen, 23-19 over quarters 1,3,&4, but Owen County rode a tremendous full-court defense in the second period to a 23-4 advantage in that period, leading to a 30-8 halftime bulge.

 

North outrebounded Owen significantly, and outshot them (although neither side will be proud of their %), but committed (unofficially) 12 more turnovers in the first half to stake the Lady Rebels to a lead they wouldn't surrender.

 

Both teams played everyone.

 

Both teams were led by freshmen - after seeing these two tonight and Shelby and South last week, I continue to be more convinced in my thought that the ultimate 8th Region champ will be the one that gets the most from its youth - Nicole Bryant, a 5'8" freshman, had 11 points to lead North, and hit 4 of 7 shots in the second half, when she had 8 of her 11 points.

 

5'7" freshman guard Rianna Gayheart led Owen County, scoring all 19 of her points in the first half. She hit 3 of 8 three point attempts and 6 of 7 FTs. She had all of her points in the first half, though, as North held her to 0 of 7 shooting in the second half. Gayheart is averaging 23 ppg over the Lady Rebels' first three games...

 

UNOFFICIAL STATS: (scoring is accurate, but turnovers may be a little off)

 

Owen County 7 23 10 2 - 42

North Oldham 4 4 11 8 - 27

 

Owen Co. - Gayheart 19, Lowe 12, Fitzgerald 5, Davis 2, Kemper 2, S. Toole 2

North Oldham - Bryant 11, Andres 7, Gibson 4, Smith 3, Olive 2

 

Three point shots: Gayheart 3, Lauren Lowe 2

 

Shooting: Owen 13 / 58 22.4%, three pt % 5 / 32 15.6%, FT% 11 / 16 68.8%

North Oldham 11 / 38 28.9% three pt % 0 / 2 0% FT% 5 / 14 35.7%

 

Turnovers: (unofficial) Owen 13, North Oldham 28

 

I was impressed by...

 

Eko Kemper's (Owen) rebounding...

Rianna Gayheart's (Owen) hustle and shooting stroke (although she was only 5 of 20 overall)

Amanda Mattern's (North) defense. Just back from knee surgery at the end of last season, Mattern's moving well and played incredible defense, including a terrific block of an attempted layup by Gayheart.

 

North Oldham's second half rally - without their two stars, North rallied from 24 down at one point to get to within 15 before running out of time. Smith will be a major contributor once she gets "basketball" down pat - a big girl with size who moves / runs very well. Bryant has the potential to take over a game once she gets more confidence in herself...

 

North obviously needs to take better care of the ball - 18 first-half turnovers put Owen in the drivers' seat. Owen needs to shoot better - in the 1Q/3Q/4Q, Owen hit just 7 of 39 shots. The good news for both teams is that those stats will undoubtedly improve as the year goes on...

Colonel Mike,

 

The 8th seems to be loaded with young talent. Who in your opinion are some of the top young players? (Freshmen & Under)

I haven't seen enough to compare them all yet, but I'm hearing stories from all over...

 

The four I know the most about...

 

The 8th grader in Shelbyville is supposed to be tremendous, but she is playing Middle School ball right now, and won't join the varsity Lady Rockets until late this month... I should see her when Oldham plays the Lady Rockets.

 

Jasmine Whitfield is a 5'9" freshman running point for South Oldham. Very athletic and a tough matchup on the outside. Struggling to find her shot, but she's a very athletic and powerful player and should be a contributor for four solid seasons...

 

Another South Oldham freshman I was very impressed with on the South team Friday night was the coach's daughter, Maddie Wright. She came off the bench and shot the ball very well and was one of the most poised player in an up-and-down, hectic (over 50 combined turnovers) ballgame. With Jordann McGuffin and Whitfield currently holding down the guard spots, Wright isn't likely to break into the starting lineup soon, but her poise and blue-collar effort were impressive for a freshman.

 

Of course, South is practically a freshman program. In a freakish situation, they have a freshman team, a JV team (8 of the 9 players are freshmen) and a varsity team (5 of the 11 varsity players are freshmen).

 

Nicole Bryant (freshman) of North Oldham needs seasoning and confidence, but is a lanky 5'8" forward who has the ability to drive. Had 12 points vs. Owen tonight to lead a depleted North squad...

 

Rianna Gayheart (freshman) of Owen County is a fearless shooter with the quickness to penetrate and the ability to launch the bomb. She's also quick enough to be a real threat in that Owen County press. Right now, she IS Owen County's offense, averaging nearly half their points... Gayheart is the complete package as a guard....

 

I see Oldham's girls Saturday...and I'll see Anderson and Trimble early next month.

I've seen South's freshman group and was impressed. I've heard mixed reports on the Shelby girl. Some say she's the next in line of D-1 talent. Others seem to think she will be a good, but not great player. I look forward to seeing her. Did Gayheart play last year? I don't remember her, but I only saw Owen once. She sounds like the real deal. The big freshman for Anderson is tough, and they have some middle school kids dressing varsity. I was wondering what Simon Kenton or Carroll has coming up?

South's freshman group was very successful as a group in middle school, and they appear to be carrying that winning attitude to the varsity...

 

Gayheart was on the varsity roster as a sub last year for Owen. I only got to see her once last year, during the region tournament...she scored a team-leading 14 points off the bench. (Williams was held to 6 and Cochran scored 9 in that game)

 

I probably won't get a chance to see Carroll's or SK's girls until the region this year...

Congrats to Owen on a good win. Sounds as if Owen played great defense with lots of pressure on North Oldham.Their freshman must be the real deal. It is a shame North Oldham was not at full strength. I thought I read somewhere where they expect to win more games than they have before in the history of the program.

Congrats to Owen. Good Luck to North Oldham, it seems every year they have an injury at the beginning of the season, I hope they get back soon.

Congrats to Owen on a good win. Sounds as if Owen played great defense with lots of pressure on North Oldham.Their freshman must be the real deal. It is a shame North Oldham was not at full strength. I thought I read somewhere where they expect to win more games than they have before in the history of the program.

 

Owen's full-court pressure is impressive... nothing like the Lady Rebels of old, which were primarily a half-court team, both offensively and defensively. Coach Osbourne's crew is very aggressive. I also thought the Rebel subs were solid...they contributed, and were also aggressive in taking shots and playing defense. Fitzgerald came off the bench and hit both of her shots and 1/2 FTs in scoring 5 points. She was also very active on the boards. Owen's a lot of fun to watch. If their shooting improves - and it should - they'll be hard to beat in the All-A.

 

North has had an extraordinary run of injuries over the 5 year history of the program. Nobody should be that cursed. Here's hoping they finally have a fairly healthy year. Their two "go-to" players should both be back in action today. Erin Overcash is a 5'9" - 5'10" frontline player who is an old-fashioned bluecollar workhorse. She's a load on the boards. Olivia Raffli gives them an experienced guard with tremendous outside shooting ability. They should set a school record for wins this year - last year was their winningest season to date, and they finished 10-13. (They were 10-9 when they had a rash of three knee injuries to their leading scorer (PG), one of their best defensive players, and one of their best shooters).