The Kentucky high school basketball postseason is underway! Region tournaments continued across the state on Saturday. Below you’ll find links to scores, selected game recaps and our coverage of the postseason so far.
GIRLS’ GAMES
No. 7 Murray 51, No. 20 Graves County 42 (First Region finals): This year’s All “A” Classic state champion won its third straight region title. The Tigers will play defending Sweet Sixteen champ Mercer County in the first round.
Miss Basketball finalist Macey Turley, a Murray State signee, led the Tigers with 18 points. She was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line.
No. 25 Webster County 45, Christian County 32 (Second Region finals): The Trojans won their 11th straight game and secured their first region title since 1998. It was the fifth region title in program history for Webster County.
Bowling Green 59, No. 8 South Warren (Fourth Region finals): The Purples went on a 22-1 run to end the game after trailing by 13 points with five minutes to play to win their third title in the last four seasons.
No. 10 Elizabethtown 58, Bardstown 28 (Fifth Region finals): E-town won its fourth title in the last five seasons and avenged a loss to the Tigers in the regular season. It was E-town’s 10th region title; it was the first time Bardstown ever played for one.
Whitney Hay led the Panthers with 23 points on 9-for-16 shooting. Morgan Gattis had seven points and 10 rebounds.
No. 8 Mercy Academy 64, North Bullit 48 (Sixth Region finals): Tazia Jenks had 22 points on 6-for-10 shooting to lead the Jaguars to their first region title since 2015. They’ll play Knott County Central, the winner of the 14th Region, at noon Thursday in the girls’ Sweet Sixteen.
Hayley Free and Caroline Janes had 15 points apiece to lead the Eagles.
No. 12 Manual 53, No. 2 Sacred Heart 50 (Seventh Region finals): Jaela Johnson scored 18 points to help the Crimsons spring the upset at Valley High School.
Aniah Griffin knocked down a three-pointer with 2:07 left to put Manual in front, 49-48, then Tyonne Howard hit a layup for the Crimsons with 1:14 remaining. Sacred Heart star Grace Berger, an Indiana University signee, answered the layup with 47 seconds left. Johnson, who was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, and Nila Blackford both went 2-for-2 at the line down the stretch to secure it for Manual, which will play 11th Region champion Scott County.
Berger, a Miss Basketball finalist, finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Freshman Kristen Clemons had 15 points, 11 rebounds and was perfect from the field (5-for-5) and the free-throw line (5-for-5) for the Valkyries.
No. 24 Simon Kenton 80, No. 21 Anderson County 68 (Eighth Region finals): The Pioneers won their second straight region title and their third in the last four years. They’ll play the Ninth Region winner in the first round of the girls’ Sweet Sixteen; that’ll be either Holmes or Ryle, who play Sunday afternoon.
No. 14 Clark County 68, Scott 56 (10th Region finals): Junior Hayley Harrison had 20 points to lead the Cardinals, who won their second straight championship and 12th overall. Shemaya Behanan had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals, who won their program’s 837th game, third-most in state history. Clark County will get Harlan County in the first round.
Anna Clephane, who’s signed with Ball State, had a game-high 27 points for the Eagles.
No. 4 Mercer County 60, No. 19 Casey County 42 (12th Region finals): The Titans won their fourth straight region title and got double-digit scoring performances from three players — Miss Basketball finalist Seygan Robins (15), Emmy Souder (13) and Toni McCombs (10).
Lauren Lee had 14 points to lead the Rebels.
No. 17 Harlan County 78, North Laurel 51 (13th Region finals): University of Kentucky signee Blair Green, a Miss Basketball finalist, led the Black Bears with 32 points, six assists, five steals and two rebounds. Harlan Coutny reached the girls’ Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history.
Johnson Central 56, Pikeville 51 (15th Region finals): Ashlee Belcher had a game-high 17 points for the Golden Eagles, who set a new 15th Region record with their 10th title (breaking a tie with Sheldon Clark). Alaina Castle had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Kelsey Jo Tackett and Kirsten Cole-Williamson scored 12 points apiece for Pikeville.
No. 16 Boyd County 55, Ashland Blazer 52 (16th Region finals): The Lions completed an 18-0 sweep of 16th Region competition and knocked off their 64th District rival for the fourth time this season. Savannah Wheeler led them with 20 points and six rebounds.
Mykasa Robinson, a Miss Basketball finalist who’s signed with the University of Louisville, finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Both she and Wheeler fouled out of the game.
BOYS’ GAMES
Christian County 78, Henderson County 61 (Second Region semifinals): Mr. Basketball finalist Detorrion Ware had 45 points to lead the Colonels to their third straight title game. They’ll meet Eighth District rival University Heights Academyin the finals Monday at Henderson County. The Blazers defeated Christian County in the district-title game last week.
University Heights Academy 59, Union County 38 (Second Region semifinals): Star junior KyKy Tandy scored a game-high 21 points for the Blazers
Apollo 64, Ohio County 53 (Third Region semifinals): The Eagles will try for their first title since 2012 when they take on Owensboro Catholic (53-39 winners over Muhlenberg County) in the finals Tuesday at the Owensboro Sports Center.
Jeffersontown 53, Pleasure Ridge Park 46 (Sixth Region semifinals): The Chargers qualified for their first region-title game since 2011, when they were members of the Seventh Region. They’ll meet 24th District rival Fern Creek in the finals on Tuesday; the Tigers, last year’s region champ, defeated Doss, 53-48 on Saturday.
Covington Catholic 53, Cooper 49 (Ninth Region semifinals): Aiden Ruthsatz led the Colonels with 18 points as they overcame the defending region champs. Mr. Basketball finalist CJ Fredrick, an Iowa signee, had 16 points, while A.J. Mayer, a Miami of Ohio football signee, scored 11.
Adam Kunkel, also a Mr. Basketball finalist, had 18 points to lead Cooper, which was last year’s state runner-up.
Corbin 75, Knox Central 60 (13th Region semifinals): Chandler Stewart had 28 points while Mr. Basketball finalist Andrew Taylor, a Furman signee, had 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for Corbin, which made its second straight title game.
The Redhounds lost to Harlan County in overtime in last year’s finals. They’ll play South Laurel, a 62-57 winner over North Laurel, in the finals on Monday at Corbin Arena.
Josh Moore: 859-231-1307, @HLpreps
This story was originally published March 03, 2018 10:45 PM.