Congratulations to the Lady Indians. Survive and advance! Good luck in the elite 8.

:dancingpa Great win...way to go Lady Indians and the 10th region and 40th district. Now go win it all.:thumb:

Great Job!

Really nice win for the Lady Indians:thumb:Good luck on Friday with Iroquois:ylsuper:

Congratulations! Another state title for 10th Region would be nice!:dancingpa

Sounds like this was a great game, as most thought it would be. Montgomery avenges their loss earlier in the season to CAL.

 

Congrats Montgomery! I'll be rooting for you the rest of the way! Bring it all home.

Great win for Montgomery Co. Both teams were kind of sluggish out of the gate. I really don't know who CAL's coach thought was going to take the last second shot, but I thought the obvious choice was Lee. She got to the basket WAY to easy.

Friday's game should be a good one! GO MC!!

Great win for the Lady Indians against a quality team. Is it my imagination, or have I heard that there are multiple D-1 caliber players for CAL?

Great win for the Lady Indians against a quality team. Is it my imagination, or have I heard that there are multiple D-1 caliber players for CAL?

 

No. 22 Slaughter for sure is. There may have been others on the squad, but they didn't jump out at me like 22 did. The pace of the game had a lot to do with that, I'm sure.

 

MC No. 3 Lee is a lot of fun to watch.

CAL's Lady Centurions' season came to an abrupt end when Montgomery Co.'s Mackenzie Lee hit a layup with 1.3 seconds remaining in the opening round of the State Tournament's Sweet 16 for a 35-33 victory. Much like the previous meeting in the Republic Bank Holiday Classic at Lexington Catholic, Montgomery Co. opened up a first-half lead and CAL came back in the 4th quarter to go ahead by a point. However, this time Montgomery Co. came through in the clutch to advance to the Elite 8.

 

Game Summary

A mixture of nerves and good defense by the Lady Indians caused an unusually high number of turnovers and few points for CAL in the 1st quarter. Although the offensive/defensive sets were as expected, CAL missed the open looks they created and made only 1 of 6 field goals and 2 free throws. Montgomery fared a little better, 3 for 9 from the field.

End of 1st quarter: Montgomery Co. 6 CAL 4

 

Nita Slaughter came alive early in the 2nd quarter, scoring on two impressive, athletic drives and CAL led 8-6. However, missed opportunities and turnovers (11 for the 1st half) mounted as they took quick outside shots and tried to force the pace. A methodical Montgomery squad found some success squeezing the ball inside, offsetting a few more turnovers (7 in the 1st half) with points on Lee layups, Mary Jehlik free throws, and two vital field goals by sub Brooke Colliver when Jehlik sat after a foul. Although CAL had started to find a rhythm, so had the Lady Indians and the Lady Centurions had done a poor job of getting Clair Buchanan involved offensively.

Halftime: Montgomery Co. 18 CAL 13

 

The momentum swing again favored CAL in the opening minutes of the 2nd half. A bucket by Bowman on a nice interior pass and five more points by Slaughter narrowed the gap to 22-20, but not for long. Webb answered with a FG and the momentum again took a turn when Elizabeth Prewitt banked in a running 12-foot baseline shot that just beat the buzzer.

End of 3rd quarter: Montgomery Co. 26 CAL 20

 

Denied by good defense and an off night even when open, Clair Buchanan finally broke through for 5 points in the first few minutes of the 4th quarter on a 3-point shot and layup, reducing the lead to 1 point at 30-29. Allison Karst layup reclaims the lead 31-30, but a Webb? (…not sure who made it) 3-pointer causes another lead change with Montgomery Co. up 33-31 with just over two minutes left. Hitting only 2 of 4 free throws in the closing minutes allows CAL to tie the score but also sets up the scenario for the Lady Indians to call a timeout and work for the last shot, Lee’s winning layup with at the 0:01.3 mark. With so little time, CAL’s Clair Buchanan didn’t get a good grasp on the ball for a past half-court heave to end the game. Although fans for each team would probably like to think their team is better, I believe that if these two teams had played 10 times this season, each would have won five in exciting fashion, but this one rightly belonged to the Lady Indians.

Final: Montgomery Co. 35 CAL 33

 

Unofficial Scoring/Stats (unable to confirm post-game, especially for Montgomery County, so feel free to provide any corrections)

CAL:

• Individual: Slaughter 14, Buchanan 6, Karst 6, Hart 3, Bowman 2, Reese 2

• Team: FG 12/30=40%, FT 7/10=70%

Statistical notes: The Lady Centurions outscored Montgomery Co. 13-9 in the 4th quarter, but the 11 1st half turnovers (many forced, but several unforced) plagued them for a total of 17 in the game, two or three more than Montgomery Co.

Montgomery Co.:• Individual: Lee 8, Prewitt 8, Webb 7, Jehlik 6, Colliver 4, Garland 2

• Team: FG 14/34=41%, FT 6/7=85.7%

 

Sideline note:

--If anyone is wondering about the officiating, I thought it was above average. They may have missed a few for both teams, but the players still determined the outcome.

--Attendance: There was a good turnout for both teams and others not associated with either school. CAL had about 400 students and about 250 or more additional fans. Montgomery Co. didn't have as large of a student section, but still had a good-sized contingent of fans. With many others in the arena, I'd be curious concerning the overall attendance. I heard it was much higher for the afternoon sessions than for the early evening game.

 

Coming up…

For Montgomery County, there’s a quarterfinal matchup with Iroquois. If the Lady Raiders play the way they did in the opener against Franklin-Simpson, the Lady Indians have an excellent chance to advance as long as they take care of three things: getting defensive rebounds, limiting turnovers, and keeping it a half-court game.

CAL’s 2008-09 campaign comes to a close at 25-5 with all five losses to teams ranked in the top 10 at the time and in the top 20 at season’s end. It’s always hardest to see the seniors go and a shame that 1,000-point guard Clair Buchanan had to have one of her poorer games in the state tournament, missing open shots she usually swishes, often CAL’s leading scorer. However, it may be her leadership and decision-making on the court that is missed most. Forward Hannah Bowman’s rebounding and guard Jenn Woods’s spark off the bench will also need replacing, but Slaughter, Karst, Hart, Walden, Reese, and others will return for 2009-10, trying to defend their 7th Region title.

 

It’s been a fantastic season…good luck to the Lady Indians!

Great win for Montgomery Co. Both teams were kind of sluggish out of the gate. I really don't know who CAL's coach thought was going to take the last second shot, but I thought the obvious choice was Lee. She got to the basket WAY to easy.

Friday's game should be a good one! GO MC!!

 

Yes, it was a slooowww start, though I think it had as much to do with nerves and good defense as sluggishness.

 

CAL's coaches thought it would be Lee or Webb. I think the reason Lee got to the basket so easily was a defensive stumble off a pick near the FT line at the wrong moment for CAL and the perfect moment for Montgomery Co.

Edited March 12, 200917 yr by CAL4ALL
Oops: Lee, not Webb

Great win for the Lady Indians against a quality team. Is it my imagination, or have I heard that there are multiple D-1 caliber players for CAL?

 

Yes and no...

--Antonita Slaughter has signed D-1 with U of L.

--Clair Buchanan had D-1 schools express scholarship interest, but she wasn't interested in those individual schools. Her achievements will allow her to obtain numerous scholarships based on academics and athletics.

--I'm not aware of any other current CAL player receiving D-1 offers. However, CAL alum Merideth Marsh presently plays for Vanderbilt.

Sideline note:

--Attendance: There was a good turnout for both teams and others not associated with either school. CAL had about 400 students and about 250 or more additional fans. Montgomery Co. didn't have as large of a student section, but still had a good-sized contingent of fans. With many others in the arena, I'd be curious concerning the overall attendance. I heard it was much higher for the afternoon sessions than for the early evening game.

 

 

Radio announced it at 4,500+, but a lot of those people were Franklin-Simpson fans. Most of them left after the first game.

No. 22 Slaughter for sure is. There may have been others on the squad, but they didn't jump out at me like 22 did. The pace of the game had a lot to do with that, I'm sure.

 

MC No. 3 Lee is a lot of fun to watch.

 

 

Pretty amazing isn't she?!!! Got to watch her man handle SHA (in the 2nd half) pretty much all by herself. You know that's AJ's sister.

Pretty amazing isn't she?!!! Got to watch her man handle SHA (in the 2nd half) pretty much all by herself. You know that's AJ's sister.

 

I did not know that. That is weird, wild stuff.

 

OK, all Johnny Carson channeling aside, I can see a lot of his game in her. She's going to be a good one. She made a couple of scoring moves in the game that had me rolling my jaw up off the floor.