Whitesburg, Ky – February 15, 2023 – Deron Mays
It just wasn’t the Owsley County Lady Owls night on the hardwood as they left Whitesburg with a 60-50 loss at the hands of the Letcher Central Cougars. Owsley had difficulty finding the mark on their shots early in the game and coupled with several turnovers they found themselves playing catchup for the entire game. They did manage to tie the score at 10 late in the first quarter but 5 quick points by LCC put them back up 15-10 heading into the second quarter.
Owsley’s Laya Lynch, their hot shooting 3 point specialist, had to go to the bench with two early fouls and that was followed by one of their best rebounders, Shelby Murray, going out with a sprained ankle. She later returned but had a noticeable limp.
In the meantime, Letcher’s 5’10 talented center Kiera Couch was scoring off good post moves as well as second chance put back shots from offensive rebounds. She was also deadly throughout the game from the free throw line, making 11 of 12.
The Lady Owls simply were not in the form that has propelled them to 20 wins. They had several unforced turnovers off lazy passes, didn’t rebound like they have been and their shooting was not what they’ve shown through most of the season. However, Letcher’s defense was very effective and they bad several blocked shots, steals, and did a good job on shutting down good looks from 3 point range.
The Lady Owls lost the first and third quarters by 5 points each, and tied the second and fourth quarters at 11 and 16 points. But they could never overtake the Lady Cougars who went on to win by 10 points.
Coach Travis Smith took a positive outlook following the game. “We will break down this film and see where things went wrong and use it as a learning tool as we finish the season before the tournaments. During the course of a season teams will have games they’re not happy with. We’ve had others this season. We will be fine”, stated Smith.
Carly Smith led Owsley with 20 points. Macey Brown had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Laya Lynch had 7 points and Kenzie Grubb 5.
Keira Couch was tops for Letcher Central with 25 points. Kara Holcomb scored 12 points, Payge Damron 10, Jaylin Whitt 7 and Alli Bailey had 7.
Owsley’s next game is Saturday at 3:30 PM at home vs Perry Central. Letcher Central has Floyd Central at home tonight and travel to Leslie County Saturday.
