Intentional Foul

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.

Whats that expression that "all wins are good" (although I admit that some are better than others).

Impressive win for the Kittens after a few "tight" early wins. Looks like the Super Seven had East a little over rated. Morgan looks like the real deal and Rowan is playing superbly. Do Ashland and Rowan play in the regular season? That would be a game I would love to see.

I've heard similar stories about Bath County's coaching staff - getting mad at area coaches for not "taking it easy on them" but then doing exactly the same things to other teams when given a chance (which isn't often). Bath fans may say that I have no evidence to back this up, but I have seen this occur and heard this from reliable sources more than once. I guess the only one I have to convince is myself - and I am convinced that Bath's staff doesn't practice what it preaches.

Final

I agree. UK fans will have to be patient with this team and new coach.

Fleming is the toughest 1-4 team that you will play all season. They are physically tough and Coach Orem has them playing well. They NEVER give up. If a few of their games had been another 3 minutes they might be 4-1 instead of 1-4. I would hate to be a coach who looked at only their record (without scouting them) before playing them. Fleming will get some upsets this year in the 16th.

In girls basketball if I have 5 girls on the team consistently scoring double figures, I'll take that all season.

Russell would be in my top 7 as well (actually around 5th)

I still have to agree with the top three rankings, although teams like Morgan and Elliott are definitely making noises and should not be overlooked. I would say that Rowan is the definite frontrunner right now, with East and Ashland neck-and neck for second.

You're correct, Parsley has made a huge impact - much sooner than many expected. If she can develop an outside shot she could be one of the exceptional players in the region.

I agree - if Kidwell can develop more of his bench Russell can be a factor come March.

Was this game in Ashland or in Coal Grove?

Can't help but think that GA fans are a little disappointed with their bowl opponent selection. I say Ga wins by 17

I'll give him a high B. As for the future, we may not equal the highs of this year, but I don't think UK will automatically become a non-factor in the SEC either. We won't see how good the Cats will be until the recruiting classes are finalized. Hopefully the last 2 years will help in that area and Brooks can continue to build the program.

From what I hear, Wilcox injured her pinky finger during practice this week. No sure of the extent of the injury or how long she will be out of action.

Good district win for the Kittens against a scrappy Boyd county team. Anyone that overlooks the Lady Lions will end up with a loss this season. Boyd followed a good game plan with agressive drives to the basket that got them to the foul line (and Ashland in foul trouble). Boyd was also very active on the boards as the smaller Lady Lions outrebounded the Kittens. Ashland's loss of Ali Wilcox due to a finger injury was also a major factor in this game. Looks like its going to be a good season of basketball. I see a lot of potential upsets in the weeks to come......

Great news for Raceland fans. When Raceland gets its whole team back to full strength, they can pull some upsets in the 16th.

Any updates on the injured Stevens girl for West Carter. Someone told me that she was definitely favoring her elbow during West's first game with Elliott County. Did the elbow limit her action last night? She is a good player and a competitor. They will need her at full strength this year.

I agree that girls basketball will never be able to compete fanwise with boys basketball, but some good coverage in the paper might spur more interest in area girls basketball - at least it couldn't hurt. Also the Independent doesn't have much competition from other news sources in the area. Its not like they will lose sales from printing additional girls b'ball articles. Saying it is a lack of staff problem is a cop-out because I know that some nights there are no other area sports teams being reported on, and there are still no reporters at girls events.

East and Ashland, just to name a few teams, may have something to say about this.

Great win for Coach Cantrell and his team. Is this the first time that Elliot has beaten West? Where was the game played?