50th District Tournament, Night 3: Lady Hounds unseat SL as district champs

After falling to South Laurel on their own home court in the finals of the 2022 50th District tournament, the Corbin Lady Hounds repaid the favor Thursday night, traveling to London and defeating the Lady Cards, 63-48, in this year’s district title game.

“This is one of the best birthday presents,” said birthday girl Bailey Stewart after the game. “I am so glad that we finally got to win district. I’m feeling good, and I am proud of how far we’ve come.”

South Laurel struggled offensively from the start of Thursday’s championship contest, struggling to hit shots in the first quarter while Corbin managed to build up a 19-11 lead thanks in part to ten points from 50th District tournament MVP, Kallie Housely.

Housley and the Lady Hounds outscored the Cards in the second quarter as well, and went into the half with a 36-24 advantage.

South Laurel senior Emily Cox was ineffective in the third quarter, having to spend several minutes on the bench after getting into foul trouble. Despite a strong effort from Cox’s eighth grade teammate, Peyton Mabe, who scored eight points in the quarter, Corbin was able to pull away with an 8-0 run courtesy of Kylie Clem and Raegan Walker that put the Lady Hounds up, 50-34.

Bailey Stewart came on strong at the end of the third, and into the fourth quarter, scoring seven points to lead the way down the stretch en route to an eventual 63-48 victory.

“It felt like we were focused tonight,” said Corbin Head Coach Isaac Wilson after the game. “They came down to our place last year and cut the nets down, so I feel like our team was really hungry, and they wanted this one. I thought we executed our game plan, and played well for four quarters. We did what we needed to do to win.”

Housley said, “I’m feeling great! They got us on our home court last year, so it feels great to get this one on theirs.”

As for being named tourney Most Valuable Player, Housley said, “It feels great to get that MVP trophy, but this is a team sport. There are four other girls out there on the court with me, and without them I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Housley said that she is excited for her and her teammates to get back up to the Corbin Arena next week to compete in this year’s 13th Region tournament. Coach Wilson is also ready to see his Lady Hounds compete for another regional title, saying, “We like going into the region tournament as a winner. I’m looking forward to the draw, and I’m looking forward to next week.”

The Corbin girls won their 50th District title this week without the help of junior Darcie Anderson, who has been sidelined with an injury. Wilson said that he is hopeful she will return to the lineup in next week’s 13th Region tournament.

The bracket for this year’s 13th Region championship tournament will be determined this weekend. Look in the March 1 edition of the News Journal for more details.

2023 50th District Championship – Corbin 63, South Laurel 48

Individual Scoring (Corbin): Kallie Housley 16, Kylie Clem 18, Bailey Stewart 9, Raegan Walker 12, Mahayla Jordan 2, Izzy Walker 6

Individual Scoring (South Laurel): Aubrey Bundy 2, Shelbie Mills 18, Emily Cox 8, Peyton Mabe 15, Maci Messer 1, Kehlea Murray 2, Jamie Buenaventura 2

2023 50th District All-Tournament Team: Maddy Hopkins (Williamsburg), Jonna Rice (Whitley County), Shelbie Mills, Peyton Mabe, Aubrey Bundy and Emily Cox (South Laurel); Raegan Walker, Bailey Stewart and Kylie Clem (Corbin); Kallie Housley (Corbin), MVP

Photos courtesy of ASHLEY NORVELL