Intentional Foul

I agree that right now, Rowan is the best team in the region, but I do believe that Ashland is right on their heels. This is why I WISH Ashland and Rowan played in the regular season. Remember also that Laisha Ward for Ashland (16 pts, 11 rebounds) did not play against Mason. Not to take anything from Rowan, but I saw Mason play earlier in the season and I believe they are a much improved team at this point of the season. I still think that Rowan is the best in the 16th, but the way Mason is playing right now, I don't know if any 16th regin team could beat Mason.

Final

As Elliott would all teams in the 16th right now. Ashland may not be #2 in the region, but Rose Hill hasn't looked like world beaters lately either.

Excellent win for the Lady Devils against one of the top teams in the 14th region. Kidwell's doing a nice job with his team this year. With their combination of height, athleticism, and good guard play (Sparks) this team is hard to match up with. They will be right in the thick of things come March.

The big 3 for Mason made a believer out of me - they are excellent players who all know their respective roles. Cline does a great job at running the team, Litzinger is a great shooter, and Chambers does EVERYTHING-she is a tremendous athlete. I thought Ashland came out a little nervous/tentative in this game and didn't show their usual all out hussle in the first half. In the second half Ashland really turned it around and played head to head with Mason -I think Ashland even outscored them in the 2nd half. Mason played all their starters to the end so it wasn't a let up on their part, Ashland just really played hard. I give Ashland credit for not throwing in the towel. Laisha Ward did not play for reasons I don't know, but she was sitting on the Ashland bench in sweats so I assume she is still on the team (contrary to some rumors I had heard). She didn't look to be injured. With Ward in the lineup Ashland may have been able to pull out a victory, but the way Mason was clicking, I don't know if any team in the 16th could have beaten them last night.

Good analysis - at this point the numbers really don't lie. Also I like the way you looked at strength of schedule to make your selections. I agree that Rowan is still the front runner in the 16th. Too bad Rowan and Ashland don't play in the regular season - I think it would be a heck of a game!

Playing at Elliott is a huge key to this game, but I still like Morgan in this one. I'll take Morgan by 5 (65-60) in a fairly high scoring affair.

REGION 16 1.Rowan County 93.3 2.Ashland Blazer 79.1 3.Elliott County 77.1 4.Morgan County 77.0 5.East Carter 74.5 6.Russell 71.8 7.West Carter 71.6 8.Raceland 69.1 9.Fleming County 67.9 10.Boyd County 61.9 11.Lewis County 55.6 12.Menifee County 53.0 13.Greenup County 50.5 14.Bath County 49.8 15.Rose Hill 32.1 16.Fairview 25.3 Another thread was run for some of the other regions - here's the 16th. What does everyone think? After just a quick look I agree with Rowan & Ashland being 1 & 2 (and with Rowan having a substantial lead at this point in the season). But I think that Russell is getting the shaft. With the rest I would go: 3. Russell 4. Morgan 5. East 6. Elliott 7. West 8. Raceland 9. Fleming 10.Boyd 11.Lewis 12.Greenup 13.Bath 14.Menifee 15.Rose Hill 16.Fairview

The Kittens improve to 7-0 on the season. Kittens came out a little sluggish in the 1st half but really put things together in the second half. An Ashland parent told me that from the 3rd quarter thru the 4th quarter the Kittens put together a 23-1 scoring run. Pretty impressive. I still think that Rowan is the best team in the region right now for a full 4 quarters. However, in the games I have seen, Ashland is the best 4th quarter team in the region. Good ball control, excellent defense, few turnovers, and very good free throw shooting have been the calling card of Ashland in the final period. IMO, if teams want to beat Ashland, they better have a good lead at the end of the 3rd.

Final

Looks like Rowan County is the real deal AND still the number 1 team in the 16th region!

2. East 2. Conner 2. Ashland 2. West 3. Conner 3. Ashland 5. Ashland (110 pts)

Ashland's experience in the 4th was the differnence IMO. Kittens outscored Russell 12-4 in the 4th period. Ashland's depth seemed to wear down Russell in the final 8 minutes. People who don't think Russell is a top 5 team were obviously not at this game. This was an unbelievably hard-fought game, more like a March game than a December contest. Russell's Spark's played like the experienced senior that she is - very hardnosed and took all the pressure that Ashland applied. I also think Simpson stepped up big tonight. For Ashland, Laisha Ward had 19 points and 11 steals. IMO, Ward may be the most athletic player in the region. Ali Wilcox also played very well for her first game back from injury. Kidwell and Bradley both did a great job coaching their respective teams. Looking forward to the next time these 2 teams meet - it will be a war-GUARANTEED!

This one is a close one to call. IMO the outcome hinges a lot on the effectiveness of Raceland's Keeton. It goes without saying that Vanderhoof is going to play hard and put up some nice numbers. Raceland I'm sure gained some confidence in their close game with Rowan. I believe that Russell (at this point in the season) has the better guards. Russell is very long and this will bother Raceland's offense. Parsley has been a nice surprise so far with several double doubles. Simplson has played solid. I'll give the edge to Russell at their place - Russell 50 Raceland 45

Welcome to the 16th region. Everyone knows that the 16th region refs let the girls play. When developing your team you must be ready for this. Its been like this at least the last 2 years (I wouldn't know before then). Blame it on the refs, but a loss is still a loss. On a brighter note, it sounds like the Lady Rams took the best team in the region to the wire last night. Definitely something that the Lady Rams can build on. When Raceland gets healthy they could be a factor in the region come March. Also a nice win for Rowan-a road win against a good opponent is always a nice victory.

Ashland's Kittens go 5-0. Can anyone who was at the game give any details. How long did Ashland keep their starters in? What was the halftime score? Just curious? Did Wilcox play tonight? She's been out for a while. Is she expected to come back anytime soon?

Rowan's 6-0 as of tonight's win against Raceland.

If they're 6-0 then they definitely have an argument. Who have they played?

On the contrary, the Daily Independent may have gotten it wrong. I too was a little surprised at the margin of victory until I talked to someone who had been at the game. Evidently the score was 40-0 at halftime. It looks like Kidwell had mercy on the Greenup girls in the second half. It looks like Russell may belong in the Super 7 after all.

This shows how well Rowan is playing since Rowan beat Scott Co 84-77. However, Scott isn't the team its been the last few years (with a current record of 4-4), but they are still a quality team. Scott Co.'s losses have been to quality opponents (I believe Rowan, Dunbar, Shelby Co., and Clay Co. )

Russell by a lot.....

Quality win by the Lady Vilkings. Sounds like West was leading at half, but that Rowan really stepped it up in the 2nd half. I admit, I had my doubts about Rowan after the coaching merry-go-round before the season began. But Rowan seems to have found a very good coach in Tacket and the girls are responding very well. If Rowan can keep up this pace for the rest of the season, I don't see any team in the 16th beating them. But...it is a long season! As of now, howver, Rowan's girls are taking care of business.

If my bench players are handling the press and not losing the lead, I leave them in to give them the game experience and build their confidence. If my bench players are begining to wilt, I put my starters back in. If the starters handle the press and there is no threat of my team losing I will not press. At ANY point, however, if I feel the game's momentum has changed and my team's lead (and victory) is threatened I have no problem with pressing if I feel that will ensure the victory. I would not press the other team however to just "punish" the other team's players. IMO the players are just following the orders of their coach and should not penalized for their coach's poor (and IMO unsportsmanlike) decisions.

Of course Rowan is THE team to beat at the present time. They are playing exceptionally well and must be considered the best team of the 16th right now.

Looks like Morgan (beating Raceland) and Ashland (beating East) have earned their early spots as teams to beat in the 16th.