The 8th Region Girls tourney kicked off at the Joe tonight. South Oldham, one of the favorites of the tourney, and perennial 8th region power Shelby County squared off in the opener. Shelby County comes out on top on OT and moves on to the semifinals by a score of 42-41 in a mild upset. (Wow, that score sounds familiar.)
SK took to the court against Owen County in the night-cap. The Pioneers came out strong and led by 10 by a score of 17-7 after 1. A strong defensive quarter helped the Lady Neers propel to a 30-11 half-time lead.
While the Lady Rebels would only post 11 points in the whole first half, they would come out and outscore SK 16-13 in the third. I think it is hard for a team to maintain intensity with such a big lead and this seemed to have happened to SK in the third quarter. The Pioneers would close out the game by winning 60-42.
Shooting was better in this game than recent ones as SK shot 47% for the game with a 36% clip from the three point line. SK’s Sydni Wainscott would lead all scorers with 18 points.
The Pioneers would outrebound Owen 35-23, with Kayla Blevins leading the way with double digit pulls at 10.
The Pioneers would force 22 turnovers by Owen County, a pretty typical statistic of the stingy Pioneer defense. What was a little uncharacteristic was the fact that SK also committed 20 turnovers for the night.
The Lady Pioneers will meet the Shelby County Rockets in the regional semifinal game on Friday night at 6:00 at SK. These two teams have become familiar foes since SK joined the 8th Region. In the last meeting, SK won on January 23rd by a final score of 47-37 without the services of Wainscott.
The tournament continues tomorrow night with Walton taking on Carroll County at 6:00 and Anderson County playing against Oldham County at 7:30.
SIMON KENTON SPORTS NEWS
