Whitley County falls to South Laurel in 50th District championship Thursday

The Whitley County Lady Colonels had an uncharacteristic off night shooting the ball, but a strong defensive effort kept them within reach of the South Laurel Lady Cardinals throughout Thursday night’s 50th District championship game at Corbin High School.

The Lady Colonels fought hard, but in the end the lack of offensive production was too much to overcome as they fell by the final score of 48-36. The loss, which drops the team to 24-6 on the year, was a disappointing one, but it was also the most competitive they have been with the Lady Cards so far this season. South topped them by 15 points back on December 15, and they won by a 31-point margin on January 19, so this 12-point victory was their closest call yet.

“We take no joy in losing,” said Whitley head coach David Estes after the game. “Whether it is by one point or one hundred, it’s still a loss, but yes, we did play well defensively tonight. We did some things that we hadn’t done all season long, and I thought that we were able to implement those changes fairly well.”

Speaking about the team’s offensive woes, Coach Estes said, “The funny thing is that we got the shots that we wanted. Abbey [Estes] had more open looks than she’s had since the first of the year, and she just couldn’t knock them down. Kaelie Frazier wouldn’t take a shot tonight. Sierra Feltner missed a lot of good looks. Hannah Clear shoots the ball exceptionally well, but she also missed a lot of good looks tonight. We got the shots that we wanted, though, and I’m confident that if we get the same shots next week in the region tournament, we will win.”

As for the upcoming 13th Region championship tournament, the draw for the girls’ bracket will take place this Saturday morning, February 24th, at the Corbin Arena. Keep an eye on the News Journal’s social media accounts for more information on that as soon as it becomes available.

South Laurel 48, Whitley Co 36
S Laurel – 17 8 12 11 – 48
Whitley – 8 7 9 12 – 36
SL – Steele 3, Collett 25, Cromer 11, Anders 1, Morgan 8
WC – Estes 3, Feltner 19, Lawson 3, Anderson 9, Lewis 2