By Leeann Tanner - Staff Writer
MOREHEAD
MARCH 5 — The Lady Vikings took their third-straight Regional Title on Saturday with a 46-34 Victory over East Carter. The two teams had traded wins during the regular season, and the title match up upped the stakes with the winner advancing to the State Tournament at the loser heading home.
With so much on the line, no one was surprised to see player after player from both teams battle through injuries that would have benched them earlier in the season. Both of these teams were in a fight for their season, and neither one was ready to hang it up.
“The physically aggressive style of play is something our schedule has prepared us for,” Coach Scott Tackett said. “We have played physical teams from outside the region with the thought that this would prepare us for the Regional Championship. We had embraced that style of play and knocked East Carter out of a lot of things they wanted to do.”
The Lady Vikings jumped out to an early 13-7 lead in the first quarter. Both teams put up five in the second for a six-point Rowan lead at the half. The Lady Raiders put up eight in the third quarter, but the gals in green put up 11 and pulled away in the fourth with 17 to East’s 14.
Rowan caught a lucky break in the closing minutes of the game as East’s Kristen Easterling and Jessica Marshall fouled out of the game. Both players have been leading scorers for the Lady Raiders this season and made game-winning shots in the closing minutes of many regular season match ups.
Natasha Kissinger led the Lady Vikings with 18 points and Adri Neely put up 11. Kaitlyn Muncy and Jenna Kiser had five each while Tierra Hamilton had four. Taylor Lewis nailed 3-for-4 at the charity stripe.
“It was a possession-by-possession game,” Tackett said. “We have stressed on our kids about how important every look is. You have to grind it out in the post season and I think we were better equipped to do that than any of the teams we faced in the Regional Tournament.”
Overall the Lady Viks hit just over 48-percent from the field and went 18-for-27 at the line. Although Rowan missed all of their three-point attempts, considering they only tried for four, their effort wasn’t that bad.
Turn overs made a big difference in the game. The Lady Raiders suffered 23 for the game, 13 of which were steals by the Lady Vikings. East did better on the glass with 24 rebounds to Rowan’s 20, but the gals in green out-did them by one on the defensive side of the ball.
Natasha Kissinger was named Tournament MVP. Adri Neely and Tierra Hamilton were named to the All-Tournament team and Kaitlyn Muncy was honored as the Tournament’s top Defensive player.
The Lady Vikings will travel to E.A. Diddle Arena, Bowling Green on Wednesday to face 22-7 Breathitt County at the Houchens Industries/KHSAA Girls Sweet Sixteen® Basketball Tournament.
“They have some great wind,” Tackett said. “They beat Mercy Academy, which was ranked number three in the state at the time. Kendall Noble is an excellent point guard and accountable for a lot of what they do on both ends of the floor. It is a short turn around, but we will see what we can do to prepare for them.”
Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m.
