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I expected to be heading out to the ballfield
Posted On 10 Mar 2022
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A funny thing happened on the way to the ballfield.
I expected to come into the office Monday morning preparing to write up my final basketball stories for the season and get ready for spring sports to begin.
I’m not a homer when it comes to the teams that I cover.
I want to see them do well but believe in telling it like it is.
Going into the girls’ 13th Region Tournament, I really expected North Laurel and South Laurel to be playing for the region title on Saturday, especially after the way South Laurel ran over Corbin in the 50th District championship at Corbin two weeks ago.
Coach Isaac Wilson had told me in one interview that the road to the 13th Region title went through Laurel County.
Corbin opened the 13th Region last Monday night by trouncing Knox Central, 62-46, setting up the matchup Friday night with North Laurel.
The Lady Jaguars were the top team in the region and had yet to lose to a region opponent.
North Laurel has senior guard Hailee Valentine, who is widely considered the best player in the region and a powerful post presence that Corbin couldn’t match.
Corbin’s answer to North Laurel’s size advantage was to up the tempo and force Coach Eddie Mahan, Jr. to bench the big girls to be able to run with the Lady Redhounds.
Corbin outrebounded North Laurel, held the Lady Jaguars to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and limited Valentine to nine points in picking up the win.
That win set the Lady Redhounds up for a rematch Saturday night in the title game with the same South Laurel team that came into Gilliam Gym on Feb. 24 and left with the 50th District title by a score of 61-54.
After the first quarter Saturday, the game appeared to be headed for a South Laurel rout as the Lady Cardinals went up, 11-4.
In a game that could only be described as ugly, the Lady Redhounds gave as good as they got, going toe-to-toe with the bigger South Laurel team.
The referees were inclined to let the girls play.
Corbin roared back in the second quarter and went into the locker room with the lead as Kallie Housley banked a three-pointer for the 22-19 lead.
Both teams had a chance to win as time ran down in the fourth quarter but were unable to get it done, sending the game to four minutes of overtime.
With the game down to less than a minute and the score tied at 41, Corbin went not to senior Shelby Stewart or Housley, who Wilson said was capable of carrying to the team, but freshman Raegan Walker for the potential game-winning shot.
After spreading the floor, Walker dribbled the ball out near midcourt guarded by South Laurel senior Rachel Presley.
As the seconds wound down, Walker dribbled to her left, backed out a bit and then drove to the right, past Presley. She then split two other South Laurel defenders and banked the ball high up off the glass. After a couple of bounces on the rim, the ball fell through the net for the go-ahead basket.
South Laurel was able to push the ball back up the floor and got off a desperation three-point shot that fell short, sending the Lady Redhounds to Lexington.
In speaking to Coach Wilson and then Walker, Housley and Shelby Stewart, they each spoke about how this team is completely about the team’s success no matter which player makes it happen on a given day.
Looking at the box score, Housley, Shelby Stewart and Darcie Anderson were the go-to’s Saturday for points. But in a game where the Lady Redhounds outrebounded South Laurel, it was a team effort with six different players hauling down at least one of Corbin’s 21 rebounds.
On the other end of the fundamentals of the game, South Laurel had a chance to blow this game open at the free throw line.
Corbin committed 17 fouls, giving South Laurel players 30 free throw attempts.
The Lady Cardinals struggled at the line, making 19 of those 30 attempts.
On the other end, the Lady Redhounds made 10 of their 11 free throws.
This Lady Redhounds team is an easy one to root for.
They are a hardnosed team that will get down and dirty on the court, and there are no egos.
They know how to play ugly and win ugly.
Hopefully, they have four more wins, ugly or otherwise, in them this season.
Until then, the ballfields will have to wait.
