19th Annual Bowman Memorial Classic

The 19^th Annual Bowman Memorial Classic at Lynn Camp High School saw three coverage area teams competing in the girls bracket. Of course, the host Lady Wildcats were there, as were the Williamsburg Lady Yellow Jackets and the Whitley County Lady Colonels.

Whitley defeated Perry County Central 41-30 on the opening night of the classic (Thursday, Dec 11), and they downed Pineville 53-27 a night later. Donnie Jones’ Lady Colonels then went on the road Saturday to pick up a 42-35 win at Wayne County before retuning to Lynn Camp Monday night to finish out the classic with a game against Barbourville.

It wasn’t much of a contest, with the Whitley ladies dominating the Lady Tigers en route to a 56-23 win that put them at 6-1 on the season.

“We’re still a little bit like a rollercoaster ride,” said Jones of his team after the victory. “But we’re growing up. Our kids are coming in and doing what we ask. They’ve calmed down, and that’s helped a lot. Taylor Dingess has been carrying us a lot on the offensive end, and we’ve been playing good, solid defense. That’s keeping us in games, and we keep finding ways in the end to win.”

Jones said that his ability to put five players on the floor that can both score and handle the ball well has made it hard for other teams to match up with the Lady Colonels so far this season. He said that he would like to continue working on getting more inside scoring opportunities, but he is pleased with the way his girls are shooting from behind the arc right now. He also mentioned that his team is getting more patient, and they are in the process of figuring out how to more effectively work the ball inside on offense.

Up next for Whitley will be a trip to Campbellsville to compete in the Food Pantry Holiday Classic. They will be facing a tough John Hardin team out of Region 5 in their first game on Saturday.

Getting back to the Bowman Classic, the host Lady Cats opened up with a narrow 49-42 loss to Perry Central last Friday before going on to win two games on Saturday. First was a 57-30 victory over Pineville, and then came a 48-21 win against Barbourville. Both of those wins counted as district victories, guaranteeing Lynn Camp at least a second place finish in the 51^st District standings later this season.

Richard Jones’ squad was then able to finish out their classic on a high note Monday, defeating Williamsburg 57-36 to improve their season record to 5-1. The Lady Jackets started their weekend off right with a 53-32 win over Barbourville Saturday, but lost 56-48 to Pineville later that same day. They looked good in the opening minutes of the finale against Lynn Camp, but too many mistakes ultimately led to another loss and a 2-4 record to start the year.

Sophomore Lady Cat Brooklyn Bryant gave a solid performance Monday, scoring 17 points and earning MVP honors. Williamsburg freshman Kayla Gibson finished the night with a game-high 18 points, but as a team the Lady Jackets did not shoot the ball well. They missed out on several good opportunities at baskets throughout the game, and they failed to sink many of their free throws in the second half. Lynn Camp was able to take advantage of their trips to the charity stripe, however, scoring 10 points on free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Williamsburg Head Coach Amanda Vermillion commented after the game that she felt like there was a lack of consistency in the foul calls that officials were making on one end of the court compared to the other. She said that likely had a negative mental effect on her players, but she also admitted that her girls simply missed too many shots. “It just would not fall for us,” she said. “Kayla, love her soul, finally found a sweet spot, and she was my leader tonight. Sydney Tye has been busting her butt lately with three consecutive double-doubles, and they triple teamed her. We have to figure out a way to feed off of teams when they’re doing that. We’ve got to get the ball to someone else in those instances.”

On the other hand, Coach Jones was obviously very happy about his team’s overall performance in the Bowman Memorial Classic, especially considering the fact that the Lady Cats were able to pick up two district wins over the course of the weekend. “I have to be really happy about that,” he said. “We won three ball games, and each one was by over 20 points, so that means we must have played well. We let Perry Central get away, but I’m really happy with where we’re at, and where we’re coming from.”

Next up for Lynn Camp will be a trip to Taylor County to play in their Christmas Tournament this Friday and Saturday, December 19-20. Jones said he is excited about the opportunity for the Lady Cats to get to compete with some teams they haven’t seen before in the tournament, and he said that it will also be a good opportunity for them to see how things are in other regions.

As for Williamsburg, the Lady Jackets will also be traveling Friday when they take on the Jackson County Lady Generals.

The girls were not the only ones in action this weekend at the Bowman Classic. Eric Swords’ Lynn Camp Wildcats also played host to a number of visiting teams between last Thursday and Saturday, but their experience was unfortunately not as positive as their lady counterparts. They fell to Pineville 66-54 in their opener Thursday, lost 64-63 to McCreary Central Friday, and ended the classic with an 80-73 loss to Oneida Baptist Institute on Saturday. Those losses put them at 2-5 on the year heading into Tuesday night’s home game against the Whitley County Colonels.