Corbin, Ky – January 24, 2024 – Deron Mays
Owsley County placed eight players in the scoring column on their way to an opening round 61-37 victory over the Cumberland County Lady Panthers Wednesday at Corbin Arena. The win advanced the Lady Owls to Friday’s quarterfinals against Covington Holy Cross, a 68-30 winner over Whitfield Academy of Louisville.
Owsley opened the game with a 3 point make from Carly Smith but it was matched by Cumberland County’s Madi Cooksey a few seconds later. Owsley slowly pulled away and won the first quarter 13-8, but it was in the second quarter that they gained control of the game with some great offensive patterns, back door cuts, fast breaks and great rebounding. The Lady Owls coach Travis Smith also did a fabulous job with his substitution patterns to rest players and keep the energy level at a peak on the college size court. Owsley won the second quarter 18-6 and led at the half 31-16.
The Lady Owls continued to increase the lead in the third quarter, winning that period 13-10. Owsley won the last quarter as well, prevailing 17-10. The final minutes were completed by the middle school/ JV team, with eighth grader Erica Mason scoring the Lady Owls final points.
Owsley was led in scoring by Carly Smith with 22 points. Laya Lynch scored 12 and Addie Terry finished with 8 points and double digit rebounds. Macey Brown had 6 points and also double digit rebounds. Shelby Murray added 2 points, Kenzie Grubb 5, Kamilla Marcum 4 and Erica Mason 2.
Madi Cooksey was top scorer for the Lady Panthers with 17 points. Kenzie Williams added 11 points, Keegan Walden 4, Abby Morgan 4 and Gracie Craft had 2.
Owsley improved their record to 12-5 and Cumberland County dropped to 11-7. Owsley’s next opponent, the defending All A state champion Lady Crusaders of Covington Holy Cross, are 16-5 for the season. They have played a very demanding schedule. The two teams have one common opponent in Boyd County. Boyd defeated Owsley in the PRTC Classic at Jackson County 73-52 and they defeated Covington Holy Cross 48-40 in the Queen of the Bluegrass Tournament at Bullitt East. Tipoff will once again be 8:30 AM Friday. Bluegrass Sports Nation will be broadcast an audio feed of the game, same as Wednesday’s game. Rob Hounshell, Gary Bowling and Deron Mays will bring you all the action from Corbin Arena.