Whitley County loses to Jackson Co. 50-48

It would be their only lead of the night but it counted most. A three-point basket by Ashley Bingham with 4.8 seconds left completed a comeback as the Jackson County Lady Generals knocked off the Whitley County Lady Colonels, 50-48 at JCHS Monday night.
Whitley County playing without four players, three that will be in the starting lineup looked impressive in the early going, jumping out to a 14-2 lead. A three-point play by Courtney Tyra, who is considered the top player in the 13th region, cut the margin to nine (14-5) at the end of one.
The Lady Colonels came out cold in the second period, missing their first three shots and allowing Jackson County to get back in the game. A Tyra drive and a three-point basket by Bingham cut the lead to four (14-10).
But, that’s when the Lady Colonels took charge with a 12-3 run led by senior Kayla Osborne and junior center Kendra Bolton. Bolton scored seven points on a pair of free throws, a basket inside the paint and a three-pointer from the top of the key. Osborne answered with a three-point play and a jumper to put Whitley County ahead, 26-13 with 2:30 left in the opening half.
Jackson County cut into the lead with a 7-0 run in the final two and a half minutes as the Lady Colonels missed seven straight shots at the hoop. However, they managed to go into the half with a 26-20 lead.
It was the Lady Colonels starting the third quarter hot, outscoring the home standing Lady Generals 11-2, taking a 15-point lead when Brittany Lawson nailed a three-pointer with 3:40 left in the quarter.
However, the lead quickly disappeared when the Lady Colonels went cold from the field and turned the ball over four out of the next six possessions. Tyra took charge scoring seven of her team’s 12 points in a 12-0 run
Sierra Anderson scored with :20 left in the quarter as Whitley County went to the final period nursing a 39-34 lead.
A basket by Lawson pushed Whitley County ahead, 41-34 before Bingham and Jessica Bowling led the Lady Generals to the comeback. A three-pointer with 4:51 left in the game pulled Jackson County within two (41-39).
A pair of Bolton free throws gave Whitley County a 43-39 lead before Tyra notched the next two scores, tying the contest at 43-43 with just under three minutes remaining.
Bolton put the Lady Colonels ahead only to see Tyra tie it for the second time. Then a basket by Lawson sent Whitley County ahead 47-45.
Lawson had a chance to push Whitley County ahead by four but was one of two from the line, giving the Lady Colonels a 48-45 lead. A pair of free throws by Tyra pulled Jackson County within one, 48-47 with :25.
She fouled out two seconds later and sent Whitlie Rose to the line for the double bonus. The two missed free throws left the door open for the Jackson County win. Jackson County called a timeout with :18 left to work the ball around for a good shot but Bingham missed and Bolton rebounded.
The call of the night may have cost Whitley Co. the game when Chelsea Cunigan pushed down Bolton on the rebound. However, Bolton was called for the walk. Whitley County coach Larry Anderson called timeout with :10 left to map out the final seconds. Bingham then won the game with the final shot.
Anderson was disappointed in the loss but was pleased with his team’s play. “What I have seen on the floor tonight was some of the things I have not seen in preseason,” said Anderson.
“The fire, the determination, the hard work and just the will to win was there tonight,” he added. “We didn’t execute well at times and had people that did not play very well at key times for us, but it was never a lack of effort.”
“When you are giving an effort, you are going to get better,” said Anderson.
“There are factors in a game that you can’t control, I thought there were times late in the game where we didn’t get some key calls,” said Anderson. “But, we missed some key free throws that we should have made. We had that 26-13 lead then missed a lay-up, a free throw and two wide open shots then we get a rebound down here and drop it and they shoot a wide open lay-up.”
“We had chances to put them away,” said Anderson. “But, we are playing kids that are inexperienced in some of those positions, we’re playing kids that haven’t played since back in January (Whitlie Rose) because of injuries. Brit Lawson is coming off an ACL. She played a lot of minutes tonight and played well. Jade (Jones) had to step into a scoring position that Holly (Jones) vacated.”
“I told the kids tonight that if we could execute the way we did tonight and we get all of our kids healthy then we are going to be a little bit deeper,” he added. “Once we get our kids healthy and we continue to battle and play like they did tonight, we are going to be ok.”
“I thought it was the best floor game I have seen from Kayla Osborne since high school,” Anderson said. “Bolton did a good job scoring and played solid defense, Jade did a great job on Tyra.”
“That last shot, that’s just a prayer, if it goes in you look great and if it doesn’t you don’t,” said Anderson. “It will probably not go in nine out of ten times.”
Lawson led the Lady Colonels in scoring with 20 points followed by Bolton with 15 points. Osborne played a solid floor game and finished the night with seven points.
The Lady Colonels will be in action Thursday night when they host the Corbin Lady Redhounds in a district contest. The ladies will play at 7:30 p.m.

Jackson Co. 50, Whitley Co. 48
Whitley Co. 14 12 13 9- 48
Jackson Co. 5 15 14 16- 50
Whitley Co. (48) – Osborne 7, Bolton 15, Lawson 20, Jones 4, Anderson 2.
Jackson Co. (50) – Tyra 25, Bingham 14, Martin 2, Hill 2, Bowling 5, Gray 2.