Feb. 10, 2012 —
Off nights simply happen.
After falling to East Carter on Monday night, the Rowan County girls squad boarded ship on Tuesday for a makeup game with the region’s top-rated Ashland Blazer.
The Lady Vikes struggled to find any type of rhythm on offense, as they fell victim to an athletic bunch of Kittens, 76-51.
“Ashland is long and athletic, and that is hard for us to compete against as we simply cannot simulate that in practice,” Rowan County Head Coach Scott Tackett said following Tuesday’s loss.
In the first period, it seemed as if the Lady Vikings were ready to bring a fight to Ashland’s girls. After falling behind 9-2 early in the first, two big threes by junior guard Taylor Conn helped to cut the lead four, 12-8.
Each team answered one another point for point the final two minutes of the period. Seniors Taylor Lewis and Kathryn Duff made quite the impact for their team, scoring off penetration opportunities.
As time expired, Duff made a big steal only to have it stolen back for a last second basket by the Kittens, to exit the period with a 21-15 lead.
Following a couple of jumpers by senior forward Stevee Townsend, the Lady Vikes cut the Kitten lead to five, at 27-22, six minutes before the half. The Ashland offense used its run and gun approach to extend its five-point lead to 13, at 39-26, holding Rowan to four points the remainder of the quarter.
What more enabled the lead was the difference in rebounds, as Ashland grabbed 19 offensive boards, providing 20 extra points for the game.
Tackett said his team couldn’t overcome the large difference on the boards.
“Offensive rebounds killed us,” Tackett said. “We have got to rebound the ball better in order for us to beat good basketball teams.”
The third quarter provided much of the same for the Lady Vikings.
An athletic offense, to go along with a persistent aggression on the inside, opened the floodgates for Ashland to run away with the game.
Lewis did her best to try and keep the game close, slashing her way through the defense. A blitz of threes and fast break opportunities helped Ashland to build a 21-point lead heading into the final period, leading Rowan 57-36.
Even with such a large deficit, the Lady Vikes did not give up, scoring 15 fourth quarter points to keep the game interesting.
Lewis led the Lady Vikings offense, scoring 14 points under heavy defensive pressure. Duff also added 10, and sophomore forward Faith Conn battled in the post for 10 as well.
Nearing the district tournament, Tackett noted his team must focus on being tougher coming down the stretch.
“Headed into district tournament play soon, we have to re-dedicate ourselves to doing the tough things,” Tackett said. “I’m talking about screening, rebounding, taking charges, getting on the floor after loose balls … If we work hard on those things, we have a chance to make a run down the stretch.”
Regular season district play wrapped up for Tackett’s team last night, as they traveled to Owingsville to take on Bath County, before they wrap up home play on Saturday against Sheldon Clark.
There will be more on these games in next Tuesday’s edition of The Morehead News.
Grant Stevens can be reached at gstevens@themoreheadnews.com or by telephone at 784-4116.
Rowan County Sports
Related Photos
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Junior Lady Viking guard Taylor Conn (23) contests a layup attempt by Ashland’s Mykal Farris (23). Photo by Don McReynolds
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