The McCracken County Lady Mustangs clinched their 10th consecutive Second District title after defeating Paducah Tilghman on Thursday night. The 63-27 final proved how overwhelming the Lady Mustangs were in this contest, playing their best basketball of the season.
“Unbelievable,” was the word head coach Scott Sivills used to describe this win. “The kids were ready to play tonight. It’s been tradition to win the last 10 district titles, but we want to go into the big one next week as a winner.”
From start to finish, McCracken controlled every aspect of this contest. The pressure applied by the Lady Blue Tornado that usually causes other teams issues was being handled to perfection. The Lady Mustangs started the game with a 17-4 run that only grew into an even larger lead, ahead 26-7 after the quarter’s end.
It was every Lady Mustang contributing in this win, with nine different scorers throughout the match. The unit seemed to be flowing in all aspects, with every player making key contributions.
“It’s huge. You have to have role players step up and play big. We were just happy defensively. We pressured them and made them turn the ball over. That’s our old McCracken way right there,” Sivills said. “Just very happy for the kids tonight.”
With a 45-18 lead at halftime, the damage had been done. Despite already having a huge lead, McCracken did anything but roll over, especially on the defensive end. They held the Lady Blue Tornado to just four points in the third quarter followed by five in the fourth. This incredible defensive effort left no room for Tilghman to amount a comeback, with McCracken finishing on top, 63-27.
Because of the diversity in scoring, that left just one Lady Mustang in double figures, that being freshman Ava Hughes. She finished the night with an impressive 20 points off 7-9 shooting from the charity stripe. Behind were three Lady Mustangs within points. Ashley Word and Skater Houser netted their’s off of three triples, while Reagan Hill put in work down low.
Makeyah Carruthers led Tilghman in scoring with nine. Myiesha Smith followed behind with eight, and Victoria Wheeler went 4-4 from the free throw line as a part of her six.
A running clock in the third quarter was not the way Coach Sivills thought this game would go against a team they were 1-1 against this season, but has been impressed with the way his team has looked as of late.
“Who knows. With the way this year has played out with injuries and so on, we’re very capable of doing that, but didn’t think that would happen tonight. You just have to play a complete four quarters.”
Regardless of the outcome of this game, both McCracken and Tilghman will be competing in next week’s First Region Tournament. With the win, McCracken will be facing a runner-up from the other three districts, while Paducah Tilghman will be going up against a district winner.
With momentum on their side after the dominant victory, the Lady Mustangs will look to continue their success in the region tournament, while Paducah Tilghman will try to bounce back with a tournament run of their own.
After the conclusion of the championship, the Girls All-District team was announced, recognizing the performance of these players throughout their tournament games. The team is listed as followed:
McCracken County- Ava Hughes, Ashley Word, Reagan Hill
Paducah Tilghman- Victoria Wheeler, Myiesha Smith, MaKeyah Carruthers, Hailyn Hughes
St. Mary- Katie O’Neill, Audrey Sims, Mason Clements
Community Christian Academy- Emma Wring