The Professor

I’ll be there at 8:30am cheering for Leslie County and good friend Coach Larry Sparks. GO 14th and LADY EAGLES!!

Lee County has had a couple of starters out of the lineup with injuries the past two weeks which is probably a reason for their struggles of late.

Congratulations to Zach. Great young man and very good athlete. He is also a first team All State golfer (3 times I think) and has signed to play golf for EKU next year.

56th uses 15 point differential on ties. If there’s a tie on the differential then it goes to a coin toss.

The 8:30am starting time is a very tough draw. Leslie County and Covington Holy Cross will still be half asleep. But I understand very well that’s the only way the tournament can be played in one day for the first round.

The Lady Owls lead grew to 24 at one time as they went on to defeat Estill County by 17 in Booneville in this district matchup. Owsley County is now 4-0 in district play with two district games remaining to determine seeding for the tournament.

Dave Fraley, who coached Powell County, Pulaski County and Knott County Central to regional titles and won the state championship when he was with the Maroons. His son John has been head coach at Pulaski County for several years and presently has a 17-2 record.

I think Jeff’s brother Ozz Jackson coached at Whitesburg in the past as well.

Jenkins will be moving back to the 14th region next season. They were moved from the 14th to the 15th in 2017-18, requested this year to be moved back and the KHSAA approved it. They were originally switched following the 2017 season and the consolidation of South Floyd and Allen Central to form Floyd County Central.

How many of you added those numbers to see if they equaled 50? Lol

Owsley County used a balance scoring attack of 12-10-10-8-5-5 to defeat Letcher Central in Booneville 50-43.

A big win for Breathitt County for sure. I’d like to see the Bobcats win the region this year. It’s been since ‘96 I think since the school has been to the State Tournament. They have the players to do it but they’ve been through a lot this year with the passing of their coach and other issues. Hopefully they can put it together in February when it counts the most.

Leslie County built a big lead early in the game with seven 3-pointers in the first quarter. They made nine treys out of 12 attempts in the first half. Owsley was never able to cut into the lead thereafter and the Lady Eagles earned a trip to EKU to play Covington Holy Cross in the All A State Classic.

The Lady Owls advance to the championship game of the 14th region All A Classic Saturday at 7:00pm vs Leslie County, who earlier defeated Knott Central 52-48. The tournament is held this year at Leslie County. As for the championship game tonight, these two teams have already met once this year, in the Hyden Citizens Bank Classic on December 22. Leslie County defeated Owlsey County 64-62 in that game. The Lady Eagles enter the game with an 11-4 record and the Lady Owls are 10-4.

Estill County beat Wolfe County 82-50 in December. Perry Central’s best player, guard Braxton Beverly, has been out of the lineup with an ankle injury for about 2 weeks when a lot of those losses occurred.

I was off a little on the rebounds but she had one heck of a game. When Owsley played them in early December at Knox the Lady Owls had a 16 point lead at one time but Collins went on a tear in that game too, scoring 21 of her 37 points in the second half in a 71-69 win. If Collins gets the ball in the paint down low and gets position she is hard to stop. And she is going to get position because she moves her feet and uses her size so well. However, the final score of yesterday’s game is a little misleading. There’s not much difference in these two teams but Knox does have a huge bench depth advantage.

Lady Panthers left Booneville with the win in a game that the final score does not indicate the closeness of the contest. The game was tied after one quarter, Knox Central led by 2 at the half and led by 4 at the end of 3 quarters. Owlsey seemed to wear down in the 4th in an intense game and Knox scored a bunch of late points. Knox played 11 players and Owsley only 6 and it was evident late. Knox Central’s super Soph Halle Collins had 40 points of their 64 and at least 20 rebounds. She earlier in the season scored 37 vs Owsley in a 71-69 win in Barbourville. She is the real deal, one of the better players in the state in my opinion, and possibly the best in the 13th.

Oh I agree. I’ve seen them both several times and they both light up the arenas.

North was absent two important starters.

Looks good ASB.

How long will he be sidelined?

They list Ward at 6’5 and she is very difficult to stop in the paint the times I’ve seen her play. She doesn’t jump but she doesn’t have to. Her reach from a standing position is higher than most players can jump. And the Gilbert girl is 6’1 and can play all 5 positions. The Lady Generals are pretty good.

Clay County is only a shadow of their old legacy. “Back in the day” they were a challenge to any team just about every year, especially in the Tiger Den. The last few years have not been kind to the Tigers, or the Lady Tiger either for that matter.

Lee County has a pair of senior guards, Zach Watterson and Trenton Combs, that if they get on a roll makes the Bobcats tough to deal with. Both can score from deep and on drives and are quick off the dribble. Also, they are just now getting their whole roster back from injury. One starter missed all of the first semester with a knee injury and their center missed several weeks with an ankle injury.

It appears NewCath and Holy Cross have a lock on the 9th’s All A annual championships. One of them will not make it to the semis this year due to the draw.