Lady ‘Hounds come up short

It was the battle of the number two and three teams in the 13th region Thursday night in Manchester as the Corbin Lady Redhounds took on Donnie Gray’s Lady Tigers of Clay County.
The result was a Clay County win but the Lady Redhounds gave notice of what was to come in a 59-57 loss to the Lady Tigers.
Corbin coach Jennifer Parsons left the Tigers den feeling good about her team, especially after being down by as many as 12 points early in the second half.
“I thought the second quarter was our weakest quarter, we gave up four threes and Morgan (Barley) got in a little bit of foul trouble when she picked up her second foul at the beginning of the second period,” said Parsons. Having her presence out on the floor is important to us. Two or three things came in to play there in the second quarter and we gave up the threes and had a little bit of a letdown.”
“Just not playing 32 minutes cost you at the end of the game when you just lose by two,” Parsons said.
“I think we came out in the second half and played a much better intense game on the three point line,” added Parsons. “They still had a couple of threes but they had to work a little harder for them.”
The Lady Redhounds saw its eight-game win streak come to an end while Clay County won its third in a row. The Lady Tigers are now 16-4 while Corbin fell to 14-4.
Corbin broke out to a 5-2 lead on baskets by Heather Clouse and Mikkah Rogers but Clay County came back with back to back three points taking a 10-7 lead.
Corbin closed out the final two minutes with a 6-0 run as Katie Akins, Christina Sutton and Clouse scored to put the Lady Redhounds ahead 13-10.
Corbin maintained its lead throughout most of the second quarter and held a 23-22 margin when Clay County went on a 10-0 run in the final three minutes. Jayme Gilbert, the Lady Tigers leading scorer tossed in half of the points.
Clay County went to the dressing room at the half with the lead and momentum, 32-23. The Lady Tigers hit four of five from three point range in the period.
Clay County came out and outscored Corbin 5-2 and led 37-25 when the Lady Redhounds responded with a 12-3 run and cut the lead to three (40-37) on a Akins basket. Rogers and Barley had three pointers in the run.
Corbin got even closer before the end of the period when senior Jamie Bonza hit a three pointer with 1:12 left in the quarter that pulled the Lady Redhounds within 44-42. However, a Gilbert three pointer pushed the Clay County lead to five, 47-42 at the end of the quarter.
The fight didn’t end there. Corbin came out and outscored the Lady Tigers 6-2 behind Sutton, Akins and Clouse and got the lead down to a point, 49-48. Gilbert finally answered for Clay County with a basket but Bonza’s three pointer tied the game at 51-51 with 4:12 remaining.
Tied at 53, freshman Sarah Burchell drove to the basket and hit the go-ahead basket. She was fouled on the play and converted the free throw for a three-point margin. Maleah Roberts followed after a Corbin miss to push the lead out to five, 58-53.
With Clay County not in the bonus, Corbin had to make three quick fouls to get the Lady Tigers to the line. They were able to get the clock down to :21 seconds before sending Gray to the line with a 58-55 lead. She hit one of two for the four-point margin but a turnover by Corbin gave the ball back to Clay County.
Corbin was able to foul Gilbert, who missed the front end of the bonus. Clouse scored on a lay-up but time ran out on the Lady Redhounds.
“I felt like our girls executed our offense in the second half just like we wanted them too,” said Parsons. “I can’t ask for any more than that.”
“Clay County and Jayme Gilbert is an excellent team,” added Parsons.
Corbin will play eight games this month, leading to the post-season. They will begin with Lynn Camp Saturday at 2:30. Williamsburg comes into town Monday for a 7:30 showdown with the Lady Redhounds.

Corbin 13 10 19 15- 57
Clay Co. 10 22 15 12- 59
Corbin (57) – Bonza 7, Rogers 8, Clouse 14, Barley 9, Sutton 7, Akins 12.
Clay County (59) – Jackson 6, Gray 5, Roberts 10, Aubrey 2, Gilbert 17, Ealy 6, House 4, Burchell 3, Jackson 6.