LEXINGTON — An excellent defensive effort from the McCracken County Lady Mustangs helped secure a 50-33 win over Russell in their first game of the KHSAA Girls Sweet 16 Wednesday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
Already known for their pressure, in-your-face defense throughout the season, the Lady Mustangs didn’t stray away from what has worked. Defensive stops, turning into fast break layups are their bread and butter to get the job done.
“I try and tell our team at the beginning of every game that it starts with defense,” McCracken County senior Claire Johnson said. “We get those stops and it gets us a good momentum on offense. We just had good energy and we played together.”
That defensive effort led to the Red Devils shooting just 26.1% from the floor and 9.5% from down town.
“I loved our defensive effort and our defensive intensity against (Shaelyn) Steele,” McCracken County head coach Scott Sivills said. “We knew going into this game that Shaelyn is an incredible player and the straw that stirs their drink and we didn’t an excellent job up front, containing her.”
As the Red Devil leading scorer, Steele averages 21.3 points per game but was held to 15 by the Lady Mustangs. And as a team that shoots well from beyond the arc, they were held to just a pair of successful 3-pointers on 21 attempts.
On the contrary, the Lady Mustangs kept their long-range shots to a minimum, only taking five and nailing one courtesy Johnson.
“We knew that they are a very good shooting team,” Sivills said. “They have four or five kids that have shot over a hundred threes all year. I’m not saying we got lucky, but we gave up some wide open looks that they didn’t make. That’s just part of the game and we’ve been there before.”
McCracken started strong and kept that level throughout the four quarter, playing a steady pace even when Russell brought the defensive pressure.
Leading 17-9 after the opening quarter, the Lady Mustangs were met with a tougher pressure that held them to just eight second quarter points. They maintained their pace on the defensive end however, holding their opponents to just five points in the quarter for a 25-14 halftime score.
“I thought overall we played four complete quarters,” Sivills said. “We shot the ball well at times, got some tough rebounds at times, but we made plays when we had to have them.”
Those plays became crucial in the third quarter in helping the Lady Mustangs to a 17-point lead at the end of the third. Sophomore Reagan Hill found her momentum on both ends of the floor, getting her hands up for a few blocked shots as well as pulling down important offensive rebounds for second chance looks.
Hill would finish the afternoon with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
“I’m really happy for Reagan Hill who came and got us a double-double,” Sivills said. “With the way she is playing, she really makes us a different team. We’ve known all year long that she’s capable of doing that.”
She was second on the scoring list behind Johnson who was named earlier in the morning as The Paducah Sun All-Purchase Player of the Year. Johnson led with 21 points which included going 12-of-15 from the charity stripe.
That performance from the line came with some adversity as several of her trips to the foul line came after hard falls and even a bloody lip.
Johnson’s leadership, alongside fellow seniors, Mikee Buchanan and Jayden Skaggs helped the Lady Mustangs stay level headed even when up big.
“These young ladies played a terrific game and did a good job of keeping our younger kids relaxed and under control,” Sivills said.
With the victory, the Lady Mustangs advance to the Elite Eight where they will take on a familiar foe, Bowling Green (24-1) on Friday morning with tip schedule for 10 a.m. CST.
MCCRACKEN COUNTY 17 8 13 12 — 50
RUSSELL 9 5 7 12 — 33
MCHS: C. Johnson 21, R. Hill 12, M. Buchanan 8, J. Skaggs 6, A. Hughes 3.
RHS: S. Steele 15, K. Darnell 11, H. Sanders 4, C. Fitzpatrick 3.